GIFT   OF 


CASE 
*     * 


AND 


Copyrighted  and  Published 

September.    1C15. 
John  r'* 


,   Gal. 
For  Private  Distribution 


. 
t^f- 


Mimeographed 

Misr         illy 


Binding 
John  Kitchen  Jr.,  Go. 


CAMP  AT   SPRINGFIELD,   MISSOURI,  THURSDAY,   JANUARY    23,    1862. 


VOL    1.     No.    13. 


rangements 

lihgcments    wer* 

U    News    Letter 

ray.    which    is 

the    State. 

authori- 

t   of  our 

asure  to 

pletely 

ation 

equest 

•we  have 

llity,   under 

Uuatlon. 

other  kind 
u ch  a  press 
ized  sheet, 
ear  in  any 
ed  all   that 
U   type,   the 
is  at  first 
re  are  not 
uvjre   reading 
atter  has 
make  it 
no    mails, 
ar  and  re- 
eliable   in- 
e  parties   re- 
u  stick  them 
osing    them; 
tems,    while 
ed    with    the 
oughtfulness 
to  this  office 
mccount — we 
r  the  Army 
monopolize 
and  say  of 
be   true 
Not  the 
e  no  in- 
ntsh   intel- 
t.dvocte  of 
o  airstain. 
at  there  is 
d  untrue  as 
*ll  orders,  all 
all    informa- 
fleds,  and 
the  com- 
atter,  of  a 
e  the  sum- 
g,   engaged   in 
It  has  re- 
own  clti- 


papers  to  a  regiment  are  distributed  in 
some  Divisions.  What  becomes  of  the 
paper?  Who  gets  it?  There  surely  must 
be  SOMETHING  IN  IT,  or  it  would  not 
be  hoarded  like  gold,  and  sent  as  me- 
mentos to  distant  friends. 

Our  office  is  besieged  from  morning 
till  night  by  men  from  the  army  begging 
for  a  paper,  offering  50  cts.  a  copy  for 
the  Argus,  when  they  are  informed  by 
Mr.  Wisely  that  the  paper  is  not  for 
sale,  and  has  already  been  sent  to  their 
divisions  for  distribution.  They  reply 
"we  don't  get  it."  In  other  localities  the 
paper  retails  at  $1  to  $3  per  copy!  It 
would  seem  from  these  facts  that  there 
must  be  SOMETHING  IN  IT.  Files  are 
begged  for  AT  ANY  PRICE,  but  the 
paper  is  not  for  sale,  but  for  the  army. 
We  only  wish  that  officers  would  do  their 
duty,  and  let  the  men  have  the  paper! 
The  men  really  think  there  is  something 
in  it! 


LITTLE   JOHNNY    WICKERSHAM. 

The  communication  over  the  signature 
of  "the  ride  to  death,"  will  be  read  with 
much  interest.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  Fremont's  body  g'uard  attacked  a 
part  of  Gen.  McBride's  Division,  then 
encamped  and  recruiting  a  little  West  of 
this  town,  in  the  latter  part  of  October, 
and  the  guard  were  repulsed  with 
slaughter.  This  skirmish  was  magnified 
by  Fremont,  and  characterized  as  the 
most  gallant  and  daring  action,  denomi- 
nated the  "ride  to  death."  It  was  on  the 
occasion  of  the  skirmish,  the  site  of 
which  we  had  left  two  hours  before,  that 
Johnny,  the  boy-hero,  distinguished  him- 
self for  true  courage  and  noble  daring. — 
Let  Johnny  have  his  company.  Boys — 
noble,  high  spirited  boys,  the  hope  of  our 
country,  come  forward  and  fill  up  the 
company  of  this  brave  soldier  boy. 


SLAP. 

Miss  Slidell  was  at  the  cabin  door, 
protecting  an  intrusion  upon  her  father, 
and  Lieut.  Fairfax  then  endeavored  to 
forcibly  remove  her,  whereupon  Miss 
Slidell  slapped  him  in  the  face. 
Lieut.  Fairfax  then  ordered  one  of  the 


"THE  RIDE  TO  DEATH." 
Under  this  caption  the  Federal  papers 
have  sung  praises  of  Zagoni  and  his  men 
for  their  fool-hardy  charge  during  the 
last  skirmish  at  Springfield.  If  we  were 
to  believe  all  that  those  papers  have 
said  about  these  terrible  fellows,  the 
charge  of  Balaklava  is  a  small  affair 
indeed,  as  compared  to  it.  But  admitting 
all  they  claim  of  gallantry  and  daring 
for  Fremont's  Body  Guard  and  we  will 
put  the  action  of  a  mere  boy — a  boy  of 
fourteen — against  it,  which  will  show 
them  the  mettle  the  "rebel  army"  is 
made.  We  refer  to  the  bravery  and  cool- 
ness of  little  Johnny  Wickersham.  John- 
ny was  a  private  in  a  company  com- 
manded by  his  brother — Capt.  Rich. 
Wickersham,  and  bore  himself  in  the 
action  in  a  style  which  the  bravest  might 
imitate.  He  was  armed  with  an  old 
fashioned  rifle — the  Missouri  arm  par 
excellence — and  with  a  courage  and  pre- 
cision 'irnusual  of  his  age,  fought  at  the 
side  of  the  stoutest  of  the  company.  On 
the  second  shot,  he  brought  an  officer 
from  his  saddle;  and  again  with  deadly 
aim  killed  a  federal  Captain  at  the  head 
of  his  column.  In  a  moment,  he  sprang 
from  the  ranks,  seized  the  officer's  sword, 
revolver  and  cap  and  returned  to  con- 
tinue the  work  of  death.  If  Zagoni  doubt 
the  fact  he  can  have  an  opportunity  in 
the  next  fight  of  seeing  these  arms,  worn 
by  this  brave  boy — who  no  doubt  has  a 
spare  bullet  for  the  Major. 

To  make  this  matter  more  certain  we 
will  inform  the  remainder  of  those  who 
made  the  "Ride  to  Death"  that  little 
Johny  Wickersham  is  now  raising  a  com- 
pany of  boys  for  the  Confederate  ser- 
vice. The  company  will  be  quickly 
raised  and  we  tell  Zagoni  to  look  to  his 
laurels  and  his  arms. 

Recruits  will  be  received  at  the  quar- 
ters of  the  Adjutant  General  of  Brig. 
Gen.  McBride's  Division  in  the  Bank 
Buildings.  None  but  boys  of  John  Wick- 
ersham's  pluck  are  expected  to  enlist.  X. 


A  Lincoln  spy  was  arrested  a  few  days 
since  in  the  neighborhood  of  Unlontown. 
— His  baggage  was  searched,  and  a  com- 
plete plan  of  the  fortifications  at  R~--' 
'r'"     Ovof-n     and     Randolph,     TPT-\ 


THE  GRAY 

id 
THE  BLUE 

At  the  solicitation  of  both  family  and 
comrades,  but       articularly  for  the  bene- 
fit of  my  ten     :  old  Grandson,  Curtis  Wri^ 
III,  I  have  tried  to  inscribe  in  the  follow- 
ing pages  for  hii::,  and  those  who  may  come  after 
him,  such  personal  incidents  as-'  memory  permits 
me  to  retain  of  ray  boyhood  life  in  the  Army  of 
the  South  during  our  Civil  War. 

I  was  less      fifteen  year 3   old  when 
I  ran  away  from  home  and  joined  th.v.  Army.  .The 
tragic  events  of  that  period  have  indelibly 
printed  on  memory's  tablet,  pictures  that  only 
death  can  efface,  the  mind  recalls  them  more 
clearly  than  it  does  incidents  of  recent  date. 

I  have  not  attempted  a  description  of 
great  battles,  or  the  strategic  movement  of 
armies,  but  only  the  true  personal  escapades 
of  a  boy,  that  arc  known,  told,  retold,  and 
discussed  by  all  the  members  of  the  family 
around  the  fireside  of  your  Grandfather. 


CURTIS 

You,  my  little  Grandson,  are  the  descendant  of  both 
Itforth  and  South  and  have  in  you  the  making  of  the  highest 
type  of  a  true  American  citizen.    Your  Grandfather,  on 
your  Father's  side  fought  for  the  Blue,  and  your  Grand- 
father, on  your  Mother's  side  fought  for  the  Gray,    I 
was  too  young  to  judge  of  the  justice  of  either • cause,  but 
looking  backward  after  nore  than  fifty  years,  I  .feel  that 
under  our  system  of  government  then,  with  the  doctrine 
of  States  Rights  paramount  to  that  of  the  National  Govern- 
ment, any  man  living  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  Line  who 
did  not  defend  his  state  from  invasion,  was  as  much  a 
traitor  to  his  state  as  one  who  living  north  did  not  take 
up  arms  for  his  government. • 

How  that  the  War  is  but  a  memory,  time  has  healed 
all  our  wounds.    U:e  Grandfathers  know  no  ITorth  or  South, 
East  or  West,  but  vie  with  each  other  in  our  endeavors 
to  show  our  allegiance  to  our  united  glorious  country. 
I  hope,  Curtis,  this  Game  spirit  will  anirna,te  you  and 
your  descendants.     In  being  true  to  your  father  and  his 
people,  and  your  mother  and  her  people,  you  have  &.  grave 
responsibility  forced  upon  you,  and  more,  much  more,  will 
be  expected  of  you.    You  must  always  maintain  the  honor 
and  pride  of  both  ITorth  and  South,  never  permitting  your- 


•*"*'. 

self  to  become  the  partisan  of  one  against  the  other. 

I  will  relate  a  little  incident  that  will  per- 
haps illustrate  my  feelings: 

Some  time  ago  I  made  a  trip  through  Canada.   The 
customs  and  habits  of  the  Canadians  are  different  from 
ours.    It  would  be  impolite  to  speak  to  one  without 
passing  through  the  formality  of  an  introduction;  so  if 
I  wanted  to  talk,  had  to  do  most  of  it  to  myself. 

Finally  I  reached  Vancouver,  B.C.    It  happened  to 
be  Fete  Week,  and  from  every  telephone  and  telegraph  pole 
floated  the  Canadian  Flag  or  the  Union  Jack;  buildings 
covered  with  unfamiliar  bunting,  soldi. rs  marching,  and 
bands  playing  "God  Save  the  King"  made  me  feel  like  a  man 
without  a  country,  until  I  spied  through  the  flags  and 
bunting  four  blocks  away,  "Old  Glory"  waving  from  a  win- 
dow.  Unconsciously  my  hat  came  off,  bareheaded  I  walked, 
and  up  the  stairs  a  young  man  met  me  at  the  railing  of 
our  Consul's  office.    "I  wish  to  see  the  American  Consul", 
I  said.    A  white-haired  officer  who  had  lost  a  leg  in 
the  Civil  \Var  heard  me,  and  taking  his  crutch  came  to  the 
railing  saying,  "I  am  the  American  Consul,    What  can  I 
do  for  you?"    I  said,  "Comrade,  giv B  me  your  hand,    I 
fought  four  years  against  that  old  flag  hanging  out  the 
window  yonder,  but  you  don't  love  or  reverence  it  a  bit 
more  than  I  do".    He  swung  open  the  gate  and  I  found  a 


friend,  as  I  always  have  from  the  true  soldier  that 
wore  the  Blu 

We  all  now  realize  that     ore  a  very  foolish 
nation  in  1061.    We  were  not  fighting  enemies,  but 
brothers,  reared  under  the  same  influence,  with  the 
same  hopes  and  aspirations,  often  of  the  same  blood. 
Even  our  own  family  was  divided,  and  we  fought  to  kill 
each  other.    Your  life  is  full  of  just  such  examples. 
Your  schoolmate  and  you  last  w^ok  were  good  friends,  one 
accuses  the  other  of  wrong  doing,  you  have  a  fight  —  this 
week,  arm  in  arm  you  go  to  school  and  your  respect  for 
each  other  is  even  greater  than  before. 

The  following  are  memory's  vivid  pictures  of  youth 
that  the  "Good  Master"  permits  us  older  people  to  retain. 
The  incidents  here  described  occurred  more  than  a  half 
century  ago.    The  life  pictures  of  my  youth  so  indelibly 
photographed  on  my  brain  at  that  time,  have  lain  sealed 
and,  forgotten  all  these  years,  yet  as  I  write,  the  mind 
compels  memory  to  unlock  her  storehouse.    They  are  not 
the  cold,  colorless  pictures  of  the  photographer,  but 
the  real  living  pictures  of  my  youth.    Memory  seems  so 
real;  the  pictures  so  vivid,  that  I  am  again  a  boy  in 
Gray  and  the  tears  come  as  I  linger  amid  scenes  of  t] 
bloody  conflict . 

3 


FAMILY  SKETCH 

A  s  y  ou  kn  ow ,          .  :;  nt  u  c  ky  p  e  o  p  1  e  f  o  r  many 
generations.    \Vhen  I  was  two  years  old,  my  father  took 
his  family  to  live  in  St.  Louis  where  he  accumulated 
what  was  considered  quite  a  fortune  in  those  days.    His 
business  was  buying  horses  and  mules  and  shipping  them 
South,  and  even  from  a  little  tot  I  was  at  home  on  al- 
most any  horse's  back.     I  was  awarded  first  prize  for 
the  best  boy  rider  at  the  St.  Louis  County  Fair.    Father, 
in  1857,  sold  all  his  St.  Louis  properties  and  bought 
large  tracts  of  land  in  what  was  then  a  most  thinly 
settled  section  of  the  country  in  and  near  the  village 
of  Lebanon  in  Southwest  Missouri.    There  was  a  farm  with 
town  house  given  to  each  of  my  two  brothers  and  two 
sisters.    The  home  place  was  intended  to  be  mine. 

There  was  much  excitement  during  the  preparations 
for  our  moving.    In rthose  days  such  a  move  was  considered 
a  great  undertakin      Father  had  seventy  head  of  horses, 
largely  brood  mares.     I  remember,  particularly,  Uickbiddle,, 
Blackhawk.  and  his  imported  Belgian  her    !  rman,  also 
a  drove  of  blooded  cattl     In  that  great  caravan  were 
five  buffaloes,  besides  household  furniture  and  merchandise 
for  a  general  store.    My  two        3  started  weeks  ahead 
and  drove  the  stock  over  land  lucre      two  hundred  miles 
to  Rolla,  the  terminus  of  the  railroad.    The  women,  father 


and  I  went  by  rail  to  Rolla,  and  thence  one  hundred 
miles  over  the  roughest  mountain  road  you  could  imagine 
to  Lebanon,  Missouri.     To  a  city  bred  child,  the  country 
seemed  a  paradise.    v/ith  joy  and  gladness  in  my  heart, 
every  morning  on  my  horse  with  gun  across  the. pommel 
of  my  saddle,  I  was  sent  to  the  prairies  herding  stock. 
At  nightfall  I  usually  untied  a  string  of  prairie  chick- 
ens or  quail  from  my  saddle.    Undoubtedly  this,  life  in 
the  open  air  went  far  toward  making  me  physically  able 
to  withstand  the  hardships  and  privations  I  underwent 
during  t     ] . 

WHY  I  BECAIvIE  A  REBEL . 

Lebanon,  Missouri  was  the  most  secluded,  isolated 
little  community  you  could  imagine,  one  hundred  miles 
from  railroad  or  telegra      Newspapers  were  rare  and 
so  old  T/hen  they  reached  us  that  we  knew  but  little  of 
the  contention  and  agitation  that  was  exciting  the  rest 
of  the  country.    "-re  heard  only  sufficient  to  make  gossip 
for  the  loungers  on  the  dry  goods  box  at  the  country  store. 

heard  talk  of  war,  but  never  dreamed  it  would  reach  us 
or  that  there  were  soldiers   on  either  side  near  us.   So 
you  cannot  in  any  manner  conceive  of  the  surprise,  alarm 
and  excitement  caused  by  seeing  the  old  lane,  a  mile  and 
a  half  away  on  the  Rolla  .road,  filled  with  soldiers,  their 


bayonets  gleaming  in  the  -sunlight.    "Who  are  they?", 
"What  are  they  doing  here?"  was  on  everybody's  tongue. 
On  they  came  and  as  they  marched  into  town,  we  learned 
they  were  General  Lyon's  advance  guard  of  three  regiments 
of  German  United  States  troops,  in  command  of  General 
Seigel,  on  their  way  to  fight  General  Pric'?  at  v/ilson 
Creek,  near  Springfield,  Missouri.    Few  of  them  could 
speak  English.    They  immediately  arrested  and  put  in 
jail  all  able-bodied  men,  my  brother  Dick  among  the 
number.    Brother  Jim  hid  out  in  the  brush  and  I  carried 
provisions  to  him.    I  was  so  small  they  did.  not  molest 
me,  and  I  went  among  them,  learning  what  I  could  to  tell 
the  frightened  women  and  men  in  hiding.     I  saw  them 
drive  big  army  wagons  to  my  father's  store  and  when  they 
drove  away  there  were  only  empty  shelves  left .     They 
took  every  head  of  stock  my  father  owned,  except  three 
most  valuable  horses,  Norman,  Nickbiddle.  Blackhawk,  and 
two  saddle  horses.    They  were  in  the  barn,  and  when  I 
discovered  what  was  being  done,  I  led  them  out  to  the 
woods  and  hid  them  in  the  small  timber.    Father  sent  me 
to  a  corn  field  more  than  two  miles  from  town  where  he 
had  eighty  fat  hogs  and  many  sows  and  little  pigs.    I 
found  them  all  dead,  riddled  with  bullets  by  the  German 
cavalry . 

All  citizens  whether  in.  sympathy  with  the  South  or 

6 


not,  who  did  not  voluntarily  ask  to  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance,  were  proclaimed  Rebels.    The  soldiers 
under  General  Seigel  had  permission  to  take  or  destroy 
their  property.    They  took  every  advantage  of  this 
permission.    If  a  man  asked  for  a  receipt  or  a  paper 
showing  his  loss,  he  was  put  in  jail.    This  was  the 
cause  of  my  joining  the  South.    Brother  Dick  starred  in 
jail  six  weeks,  when  with  friendly  assistance  he  cut  his 
way  out  and  escaped  to  the  woods. 

After  General  Lyon's  army  reached  Lebanon,  and 
General  Seigel  had  moved  on  toward  Springfield,  we  were 
treated  much  more  kindly.    The  town  was  filled  with 
soldiers  coming  and  going.    With  much  interest  I  watched 
them  drill,  particularly  the  Field  Artillery  at  target 
practice.    How  they  did  brag  and  tell  what  they  would 
do  to  the  "Rebs"  when  they  caught  them.    I  seemed  trans- 
formed into  another  boy,     I  had  been  the  frail,  petted 
baby  of  the  family,  and  almost  girlish  in  my  disposition, 
but  words  came  to  my  lips,  "I'll  figlrc  them,"  "I'll  fight 
them,"  and  when  I  reached  home  father  said,  "Johnnie, 
what  are  you  crying  about?"     I  could  only  say,  "I'll 
fight  them,"  I'll  fi.:;ht  them,"  and  for  many  days  the 
words  passed  my  lips  unconsciously.    The  time  came  when 
the  entire  army  had  passed  on  towards  Springfield,  and 
then  how  quiet  and  peaceful  it  The  tov.-n  looked  n 

7 


if  some  great  hurricane  had  passed  through  it. 
FIRING  AT  WILSON  CREEK. 

About  three  weeks  later,  on  a  bright  Sunday,  that 
I  shall  never  forget,  it  seemed  that  everybody  was  at 
the  Methodist  Church.    What  the  preacher  was  saying, 
I  do  not  remember,  but  I  remember  that  in  the  midst  of 
the  service  someone  tiptoed  in  -and  whispered  to  my  father, 
Father  followed  him  out  of  the  church  and  so  did  others, 
both  men  and  women.    Everyone  knew  something  most  un- 
usual had  occurred  as  none  came  back.    Finally  I  took 
courage  and  slipped  out,    Liy  bey,  you  cannot  imagine 
my  fear  and  consternation  when  I  savr  i:y  father  end  every 
man  and  woman  lying  flat  on  the  ground.    Not  a  word 
was  spoken,  and  I  noticed  they  all  had  their  ears  to  the 
ground.    Frightened,  but  curious  I  also  lay  down.     I 
could  see  or  hear  nothing,  then  I  felt  the  earth  tremble, 
and  I  knew  it  was  the  ground  vibration  of  the  artillery 
firing  at  Wilson  Creek,  nearly  fifty  miles  away.    This 
was  on  the  tenth  of  August.1    I  remember  the  date  from 
the  old  War  Song  that  later  became  one  of  our  camp  songs: 

11 T 'was  on  the  tenth  of  August  we  made  the  Lyon  roar 
The  musket  and  the  niinnie  balls  around  our  tents 
did  pour",  etc.  etc. 

8 


We  all  went  back  into  the  church.    Such  serious 
looking  people.   I  wanted  to  shout,  "but  dared  not.   The 
preacher  said,  "Brother  Wicker sham  will  you  lead  us  in 
prayer?"    I  wish  I  could  remember  that  prayer,    I  knew 
how  I  stood,  but  had  never  heard  my  father  express  him- 
self.   I  knelt  by  his  side  looking  up  into  his  face, 
hoping,  and  when  he  prayed  God  to  give  victory  to  the 
South,  I  stood  up  and  cried,  "Amen"  so  loudly  it  was 
moments  before  he  could  continue  his  prayer. 

THE  DEFEAT  AHD  DEATH  OF  GENERAL  LYON. 

•my  of  the  men  and.  women  sat  up  and  talked  the 
night  through  —  wondering  who  had  won.    Three  days 
passed.    They  seemed  like  weeks.    Finally  a  man  came 
galloping  intq  town  shouting  the  news  that  General  Lyon 
was  killed  and  the  Yankees  were  defeated  —  most  of 
them  captured  with  their  cannon  and  wagons  —  what  was 
left  of  them  would  be  in  Lebanon  in  a  few  hours  — 
General  Price  was  just  behind,  and  a  battle  was  expected 
every  minute. 

The  town  was  wild  with  suppressed  joy  and  fear.   I 
remember  everybody  spoke  in  whispers.    Then  came  the 
Seigel  men  that  we  knew  so  well,  in  advance,  but  not 
with  the  pomp  and  arrogance  of  a  few  weeks  before.    They 

3 

were  raw  troops,  and  my  dear  boy,  may  you  never  know 

9 


what  defeat  and  retreat  means  to  untried,  green  soldier?. 
They  had  virtually  run  fifty  miles  —  thrown  away  coats, 
haversacks  and  many  had  no  guns.    The  look  in  their 
I  will  never  forget.    Their  clothes  were  wet  with  per- 
spiration and  covered  with  'dust.     -en  the  command  "halt" 
was  given,  every  man  fell  to  the  ground.    Price  was 
not  following,  but  they  thought  he  was,  and  it -had  t 
same  effect.    They  could  rest  but  one  hour.    The-  bugle 
sounded,  and  with  tired,  weary  legs  and  sore  feet,  they 
started  on  that  long  tramp  of  one  hundred  miles  to  Rolla. 
Their  wagons  carried  only  the  wounded  —  their  horses 
were  exhausted*    They  did  no  foraging,  had  no  stragglers, 
and  by  ten  o'clock  the  next  day  the  entire      had  pas 
on. 

When  we  had  ascertained  that  there  were  no  more  to 
come,  we  uncorked  our  suppressed  joy,  and 'made  the  'wel- 
kin ring  with  praises  to  God. 

A  CQMPAIIY  FOR  THE  SOUTH. 

Brother  Dick  came  back  —  Jim  came  to  town,  and 
from  all  over  the  country  came  men  with  their  squirrel 
rifles  and  shotguns.     They  organized  on  the  Public 
Square,  a  large  company  for  the  South,  electing  Brother 
Dick  Captain;  Joe  Crawford,  First  Lieutenant;  and  Brother 
Jim,  Second  Lieutenant.    They  were  mostly  young  men  who 

10 


had  spent  their  lives  in  the  open  —  physically  strc1 
and  crack  shots.    Had  it  not  been  for  the  conduct  of 
General  Seigel  and  hio  men,  probably  not  more  than  one  in 
ten  of  these  would  have  ca.st  his  lot  with  the  South. 

Accustomed  to  the  equipment  and  discipline  of  our 
regular  army  of  today,  you  cannot  imagine  what  an  un- 
soldierly  .          "chis  company  made,  with  their  peace- 
fill  hunting  gi  orrs,  and  bullet  molds^    The 

contrast  with  the  soldiers  of  General  Lycn's  army  stood  ir 
bold  relie     There  were-       "hers  in  their  hats,  nc 
brass  buttons,  no  bands  of  mu  sic  or  loud  command;  but 

when  they  left  f'     ..  Sou\"       iptain  simply  said, 

', 

"Come  on  boys11,       :.r  clothes  were  homemade  and  of 
every  color,     .ey  had  no  flag.     The  ladies  wished  to 
make  them  one,  but  could  find  no  person  who  knew  what  t 
Rebel  flag  was. 

In  the  morning,  with  three  wagons  loaded  with  cnv 
cooking  utensils,  provisions,  but  no  tent  3,  .they  started 
to  find  General  Price's  army.    They  heard  he.  was  at 
Springfield,  -     an.  . 


I  BM  AMI  1EQM  HOMiu. 

How.  I  begged  to  go.    liy  brothers  were  •  angry 
that  I  should  think  of  such  a  thing.    Dick  said,  "If 
you  mention  that  again,  I  will  cross      :e.e." 


Then  1  went  to  my  father.  h  me, 

and  understood  me  much  "better  than  my  brothers,  but 
said  it  was  out  of  reason  —  that  I     not  yet  fif- 
teen, and  they  would  drive  me  out  of  car  .     "we  talk- 
ed far  into  the  night,  and  when  I  was  in  bed  he  knelt 
and  prayed  and  kissed  me.    .But  my  mind  was  made  up. 
When  he  left,  and  the  house  was  quiet,  I  stole  quietly 
downstairs,  took  the  old  rifle  from  t]  .    er-horns  in 
the  hall,  saddled  my  horse  in  the  barn,  and  started 
sout  .    By  making  inquiries  r.nd  watching  the  trail,  I 
had  no  difficulty  in  finding  jry  way.    In  a  few  hours 
would  reach  them. 

QL   FATHER 


I  looked  back,  and  in  a  cloud  of  dust 
n  corning  at  full  speed.    It  proved  to  be  my  father. 
first  great  crisis  of  my  lif      To  his 
entreaties  I  had  only  one  answer,  "If  you  make  me  go 
bao     -her,  I  will  run  away     nn  .      thout  a  word. 
but  with  tears  i.      eyes,  he  unstrapped  a  package  on  the 
back  of  his  saddle  and  when  he  had  unwrapped  it,  he  handed 
me  the  most  beautiful  little  gun  I  had  ever  seen.    It 
was  in  two  pieces,      ;e  showed  me  how  to  put  it  to- 

-.her.    It  was  breech-loading  r     .*oved  to  be  a 
riaynard  rifle. 


He  took  my  big  gun  and  v:e  frot  down  on  our  knees  in 
that  dusty  road,  and  lie  prayed  as  I  had  never  heard 
him  pray  before.    He  took  Lie  in  his  arms.    Then  he 
mounted  and  rode  away  leaving  me  alone  in  the  road. 
Alone,  but  Oh.1  so  happy.1    Half  an  hour  before  I  had 
been  a.  runaway  boy,  but  now  I  was  a  man  going  with  my 
father's  blessing  to  defend  my  State,  and  in  my  arms 
I  held  the  rifle  he  had  gj.-    re, 

I  came  upon  the  Conunand  some  twenty  miles  from 
Springfield,  much  to  the  disgust  and  annoyance  of  my 
brothers,  but  the  other  boys  gave  me  a  hearty  welcome. 
Other  companies  of  the  "Web-foot"  (Infantry)  ±"ound  us, 
and  when          d  Springfield  we  numbered  some  two 
hundred  and  forty  men.   All  along  our  march  there 
came  men  on  horseback  in-  squads  of  from  four  to  ten. 
They  were  unorganized,  and  I  remember  that  few  had  guns 

SPRINGFIELD. 

When  we  reached  Springfield,  to  our  great  sur- 
prise, we  found  that  General  Price  and  his  army  had 
hurriedly  retreated  some  time  before.    We  went  into 
camp  in  an  old  pasture  a  mile  south  of  town. 

We  stood  our  guns  against  the  fence  and  hung  our 
powder  horns  to  the  stakes. 

were  ignorant  of  war,  being  more  like  a  gather- 


of  country  folk  bent  on  bavin; .     relic.   Bor- 
dering       ture  on  the  south  was  a  dense  growth  of 
scrub  oaks  whose  trunks  were  about  the  size  of  my 
an...    In  front  (east)  was  the  county  road  with  it? 
ten-rail  staked  and  double-riderer  fence  forming  a 
continuous  lane  from  Springfield  to  t     iir  Grounds,  .?. 
mile  and  a  ?ialf  to  the  south.  jringfield 

pasture  sloped  do\vnward  to  a  .         k  some  six 
yards  away. 

A  wide  gap  -le  in  the  rail  fences  in  our 
front,  so  we  could  cross  the  lane  to  Li  g  in  t 
pasture  b  e  y c nd . 

HORSE  RACING. 

id  barely  settled  in  canp  before  the  bo;_ 
were  trying  the  running  qualities  of  their  hors  i  . 
Horse  racing  in  ^hose  days  was  our  most  fascinating 
sport ,  and  the  lane     like  the  race-track  at-  our 
county  fair     As  the  horses  raced,  vie  boys  afoot 
lined  the  top  rider  of  the  fence  like  blackbirds. 
yelled  and  cheered  them  as  they  passed  by. 

CAPTURE  01  MAJOR  WHITE. 

About  three  o'clock  in  the.     rnoon,  our  officers 
with  the  exception  of  Lieutenant  Joe  Crawf ord,  rode  int- 

14 


Springfield;  I  followed  afoot,  and  a  great  surprise 
awaited  us.    We  found  that  some  of  our  men  on  horse- 
back (you  could  not  call  them  cavalry  in  those  days  ) 
had  captured  a  Yankee  major  named  V/hite  of  General 
Fremont's  body  guard.    He  was  a  sight  to  our  un- 
educated eyes,  literally  covered  with  gold  braid  from 
head  to  foot, the  wonder  he  created  among  us  can  only 
be  imagined.   All  we  could  learn  was  he  had  taken 
the  wrong  road  and  was  lost.    I  might  here  tell  you 
something  of  General  Fremont ' s  body-guard  taken  from 
official  report. 

FREMONT ' S  BODY-GUARD. 

To  become  a  member  of  this  select  organization 
of  four  hundred  and  eighty  men  one  had  to  be  six  feet 
or  over;  pass  strict  physical  examination,  and  have  a 
full  military  mustache.     Their  clothing  was  made  from 
the  finest  cloth  covered  with  ornaments  and  gold  braid. 
Their  large  hats  were  black  felt  with  a  great  gold  cord 
and  tassel  wit,h  black  ostrich  plume.    Besides  his  sword, 
each  had  swung  from  his  shoulder  a  four-inch  fair-leather 
belt  attached  tc  which  was  a  silver  plated  gun-stock  or 
breech.     Each  had  a  pair  of  holster0  fastened  to  the  horn 
of  his  saddle  -containing  a  Colt  Army  Dragoon -six-chamber , 
silver-plated  revolver  made  to  attach  to  the  stock  or 

15 


breea 

,t   a   dj  five  mi". 


from  Sprinr 

peach  brandy,  had.  i 

in  his  uni-,     iook  or  bre< 

their  saddl      The  trn 

equalled  tiios 

reprimanded,  for   ; 

Then  P:-.-    "  - 

in  Tiy. 


'toraachs  Vvriti: 
could   scarcely  keep 

aene^al   i'ro:; 

ard 


i'ORGOT 


CRS. 


i   to   go   back  tc 

•ley  had   < 


¥e  Jr   ar? 

spied  me   d  cv/^,.   ?  i. 
and  tell   the   bcyc 
tured  a  v 

When    I   reac  ie.    I  v/aited  for 

finish  •,  horse   rac.  ore   £cin:  •  Upon  . 

the   c;*  d  the  '    feet   beyonci 

the  i;  pc.in^    of    oui 

BIG  RA 


in  it"  . 
I  for- 


n  left 


rac..  es 

;bed  the  fence 
too  rider. 


"!  ^ 


and,  like  all  the  rest,  Wci.fi  waving  my  hat  and  shout- 
ing encouragement  at  the  top  of  my  voice  to  the  riders, 
particularly  to  a  man  on  a  gray  horse  who  was  a  little 
behind.    "I'll  bet  two  bits  on  the  bay",  shouted  my 
neighbor.    (That  was  the  limit  of  betting  in  those 
days).    Every  man  was  on  the  fence  excepting  a  very 
few  who  were  not  interested  in  racing.    Before  the 
dmst  of  the  seven  horses,  that  we  later  learned  were 
those  of  our  frightened  pickets,  had  cleared  away,  came 
eighty  men,  the  Yankee  advance  guard,  eight  abreast  with 
sabers  drawn  and  plumes  flying. 

"Law,  what  pretty  men",  the  boys  yelled.     Every 
one  of  us  was  now  on  the  top  rider  of  the  fence,  cheer- 
ing and  yelling  in  our  mad  excitement  at  the  gold  and 
silver  men  passing  on  horses.   Many  stood  up  on  the 
fence  and  waved  and  yelled  as  long  as  they  were  in  sight. 
Not  a  soul  thought  of  war,  or  fighting. 

THE  FIGHT. 

Before  they  had  passed  from  view,  the  main  body 
of  four  hundred  had  wheeled  in  our  front  and  commenced 
firing  at  us.   "You  gol-darned  fools",  the  boys  shouted, 
"cut  that  out,  you'll  hit  some  of  us  with  your  blamed 
foolishness".    Others  said,  "Say,  are  you  fellows  from 
Price's  army?"   Lieutenant  Crawford  jumped  on  the  fence 

17 


waving  his  sword  and  shouted,  "Soys,  get  your  guns, 
they  are  Yankees".    fortunately  for  us  they  were 
over  drilled.    They  fired  by  command,  and  in  platoons, 
raising  those  big  revolvers  over  their  shoulders,  at 
the  same  time  cocking  them,  and  at  the  word  "Fire", 
pulled  the  triggers,  and  over  shot  us. 

In  this  first  part  of  the  fight,  the  only  men  that 
were  hit  were  the  ones  without  curiosity  or  interest 
in  the  horse  race.    l\To  words  of  mine,  ray  boy,  can  give 
you  any  idea  how  Lieutenant  Crawford's  words  electri- 
fied us.    Instantly  every  man  dropped  from  the  fence 
and  found  a  gun.    Through -the  opening  between  the 
rails  the  clear  crack  of  the  squirrel  rifle,  or  the 
deeper 'detonation  of  the  shot  gun,  filled  every  man 
with  the  ecstacy  of  excitement  and  joy.    Four  hundred 
of  the  enemy  crowded  between  the  two  fences,  almost 
against  the  muzzles  of  our  guns,  the  front  line  using 
their  sabres,  cutting  at  our  men  over  the  fence. 

There  was  no  fear;  it  all  came  upon  us  like  a 
flash  of  lightning.   We  plain  country  folks  were  then 
like  wild  animals  at  the  first  tast'B  of  blood.    "I  got 
the  big  fellow,  look  at  him  falling",  cried  a  neighbor 
boy.    "My  God",  said  another,  "look  at  the  dead  horses" 
The  enemy  were  a  brave  lot,  and  stayed  until  each  ha.d 
fired  twelve  shots  at  us.    They  passed  on  to  the  creek 

18 


towards  town  where  they  formed  a  junction  with  their 
advance  guard.    The  lane  seemed  filled  with  dead 
and  wounded  men  and  horses.    Then  came  the  scramble 
for  every  man  to  find  his  own  gun  and  get  his  powder 
and  balls  ready,  for  we  believed  they  would  come  back, 
and  they  did. 

Again  from  towards  town,  eight  abreast,  they  wheeled 
into  line  against  the  fence,  riding  over  the  dead  and 
wounded,  and  the  same  battle  was  repeated,  but  much 
more  fatally  to  both  sides.   A  man  by  the  name  of  McCall, 
by  my  side,  after  he  had  fired  his  gun,  could  not  find 
his  powder  flask*    In  his  frenzy  he  climbed  on  top  of 
the  fence,  and  with  the  butt  of  his  gun  unhorsed  one 
of  the  enemy.    The  poor  fellow  was  cut  to  pieces  by 
the  sabres.   My  attention  was  attracted  to  some  sixty 
of  the  enemy  that  were  outside  the  lane,  in  perfect 
line,  about  sixty  yards  away,  using  their  dragoon  re- 
volvers as  guns.    They  fired  at  will  and  did  good 
execution. 

How  plain  that  picture  is  to  me  today.    It  does 
not  seem  possible,  and  yet  I  shouted  with  joy  as  I  saw 
them  fall  from  their  saddles.   About  twenty  of  our 
riflemen  with  a  rest  on  the  fence  made  many  a  shot  tell. 
They  left  many  men  and  horses  on  that  knoll.    The 
fighting  lasted  until  each  had  fired  twelve  shots,  and 

19 


they  then  ran  toward  the  Pair  Grounds.    Ten,  fifteen, 
twenty  minutes  passed,  and  we  thought  they  were  gone. 
We  found  we  had  many  killed  and  wounded,  and  were  caring 
for  them.   A  straggler  came  running,  saying  they  were 
forming  for  another  charge,  at  the  Fair  Grounds. 

I  might  say  here,  that  in  the  scramble  and  excite- 
ment, I  could  not  find  my  little  "Maynard  Rifle",  but 
grabbed  the  first  gun  I  found  leaning  against  the  fence. 
Fortunately  it  had  powder  horn  and  bullets-  tied  to  it. 
It  was  all  right  when  I  had  the  fence  to  rest  it  on, 
but  I  could  not  hold  it  off -hand. 

Lieutenant  Crawford  foolishly  formed  the  line 
thirty  yards  back  from  the  fence.    He  made  us  a  speech;. 
positive  orders,  for  no  one  to  fire  without  his  command. 
I  was  the  smallest,  and,  as  was  usual  in  those  days,  my 
place  was  at  the  tail  end  of  the  line,  or  nearest  Spring- 
field, and  immediately  in  front  of  where  the  fence  was 
down.    Prom  my  position,  I  could  see  as  far  as  the  Pair 
Grounds  and  I  saw  them  in  the  road  forming .    They 
started  in  a  walk. 

I  was  wild  with  the  ecstacy  of  it  all  for  I  was 
too  young  to  appreciate  the  danger,    I  danced  and 
shouted,  "They  are  coining,  coming".    The  men  said, 
"Shut  up,  you  little  fool",  etc.,  etc.,  but  I  heard 
them  not.    They  were  coming  now  in  a  trot,  a  big  officer 

20 


on  a  magnif icient  prancing  horse  leading  them,  his 
sword  flashing  in  the  sunlight.   He  shouted  his  or- 
ders, but  I  could  not  understand  him.    As  they  came 
nearer  I  heard,  "Charge  the  gap,  charge  the  gap". 
Thirty  yards  in  my  jumnediate  front  was  the  gap.   I 
turned  and  shouted  down  the  line,  "They  are  going  to 
charge  the  gap".    I  never  knew  what  made  me,  but  I 
ran  to  within  ten  paces  of  the  gap,  knelt  down  with 
elbow  on  my  knee  and  rifle  at  my  shoulder,  waiting.   The 
men  swore  and  cursed  me,  but  I  did  not  heed  them.    I 
was  unconscious  of  what  I  was  doing. 

On  they  came;  not  a  shot  was  fired.    The  officer 
wheeled  into  the  gap.    The  advance  had  passed  through, 
and  as  the  officer  raised  his  sword  to  strike  me,  my 
rifle  rang  out;  the  bullet  pierced  his  breast.    I  had 
never  used  a  profane  word  before  in  my  life,  but  the 
men  said  I  threw  down  my  gun  and  danced  and  swore  like 
a  trooper.    I  was  oblivious  to  my  surroundings.    I 
did  not  hear  the  hundreds  shout,  "Lie  down,  you  little 
fool".    Lieutenant  Crawford  gave  the  command  "Fire", 
but  I  did  not  hear  it.    My  man  was  down,  his  horse  had 
stopped.    One  foot  was  still  in  the  stirrup.    I  worked 
it  loose  and  tied  the  horse,  then  I  went  back  to  him 

and  made  him  as  comfortable  as  possible.    He  tried  to 

» 

say  something  to  me,  but  I  could  not  understand  him. 

21 


He  was  a  very  large  man,  and  I  had.  nuch  difficulty 
unbuckling  his  sword  belt  and  getting  it  off.    His 
sword  was  still  fastened  to  his  wrist  by  a  braided 
leather  cord,  and  it  took  me  several  minutes  to  get 
it  loose.    I  tried  .to  hold  the  sword 'out,  and  when 
I  stood  it  up  by  me  it  was  nearly  as  tall  as  I.    I 
remember  he  wore'  a  fine  _  diamond  and  much  jewelry. 
Ho.  power  on  earth  could  have  induced  me  to  even  touch 
these  things,  but  his  sword,  pistols  and  horse  were 
mine  by  the  rules  of  war,  and  I  would  have  fought  the 
world  for  them. 

M£  TROPHIES. 

I  left  him  and  went  to  the  horse.    He  was  a 
beauty.    His  saddle  and  bridle  were  the  most      .ficent 
I  had  ever  seen.    There  were  funny  looking  things  on 
the  horn  of  the  saddle,  and  I  found  they  contained 
two  silver  plated  dragoon  revolvers.    Both  were  load- 
ed.   I  had  never  seen  such  pistols.    I  was  so  fas- 
cinated with  my  trophies  I  forgot  the  fighting  going  on 
all  around  me.    I  came  to  myself  when  I  heard  the 
shout  of  cur  boys  and  learned  afterwards  that  we  had 
defeated  them  for  the  third  time  in  the  lane;  that  the 
gap  was  almost  blocked  with  dead  horses  and  men,  and 
that  they  had  gone  to  the  creek  towards  town  and  let 

22 


down  the  fence  and  made  th^  grca-j  "Charge  of  Zegonia" 
in  history,  and  driven  our  boys  "back  into  the  scrub  oaks 
previously  mentioned.    Horsemen,  no  matter  how  brave 
and  gallant,  cannot  compete  with  squirrel  rifles  and 
shot  guns  in  thick  timber.    I  was  unconscious  of  the 
charge  that  swept  by  me,  sabring  some  of  our  men  before 
they  could  reach  the  brush,  and  only  came  back  to  earth 
when  I  heard  the  Rebel  yell  of  victory,    I  looked 'up 
and  saw  the  Yankees  running  in  every  direction  to  get 
out  of  range  of  the  deadly  fire  of  our  men.     I  was. 
standing  in  front  of  the  gap  with  one  of  those  most  won- 
derful pistols  in  each  hand.    I  saw  our  boys  come  out 
of  the  brush,  firing  at  the  running  Federals.    To  my 
surprise  a  body  of  about  thrity  was  trying  to  escape 
by  way  of  the  gap.   In 'my  boyish  ignorance  I  yelled  to 
them  to  come  on.    They'  came.    My  fire  checked  the 
leaders,  the  ones  behind  ran  over  them.    It  was  a 
miracle  the  horses  did- not  trample  me  to  death.    When 
the  boys  found  me  I  was  Dying  unconscious  from  a  blow 
on  the  head,  but  tightly  grasped  in  each  hand  was  my 
first  spoils  of  war,  the  two  siiv3r  mounted  Dragoon  re~ 
volvers  with  only  one  chamber  not  fired.    One  of  them 
now  lies  on  my  desk  as  I  write.     ore  than  a  half 
century  of  time  has  changed  its  silver  plating  to  dull 
brass,  but  not  so  with  memory.    If  I  shut  my  eyes'-  on 

23 


the  present  as  I  close  my  fingers  around  the  butt  of 
the  old  gun,  I  feel  again  the  same  thrill  that  shook 
the  little  fifteen  year  old  Johnnie  Reb  when  he  fool- 
ishly tried  to  hold  the  gap  a.lone  against  Zegonia's 
Charge.    To  you,  my  little  grandson,  I  give  my  most 
cherished  relic  of  the  war. 
THE  JUST  PUfflSHME&T  OF  A  COWARD . 

There  was  a  very  unpopular  men  in  our  Command.  He 
was  always  telling  what -he  would  do  when  he  got  a  chance 
at  the  "Yanks" .   He  was  not  only  a  braggart,  but  a 
coward.    During  the  entire  fight  he  hid  in  the  brush, 
but  when  he  found  the  enemy  was  gone,  he  came  out  of 
hiding.    Approaching  a  group  of  prisoners,  he  deliberately 

shot  and  killed  one.   Lieutenant  Crawford,  who  was 
standing  by,  without  a  word  drew  his  sword,  and  with 
one  stroke  almost  severed  his  head  from  his  body.   After 
the  war  was  over  Lieutenant  Crawford  was  sent  to  prison 
for  this  act,  and  did  not  get  out  until  years  after 
when  he  was  pardoned  by  the  governor.. 
LEAVING  FOR  PRICE'S  ARMY. 

We  left  most  of  our  frying  pans,  skillets  and 
plunder,  and  loaded  our  wagons  with  the  wounded,  and 
started  again  to  find  General  Price,  who  was  in  Arkansas. 
The  men  pulled  the  dead  men  and  horses  out  of  the  gap 
and  lane,  and  piled  them  together  against  the  fence  on 

24 


either  side  so  our  wagons  could  pass,  and  about  ten 
o'clock  that  dark  night,  we  started.    Several  of  our 
officers  had  come  back,    I  noticed  my  brother  Jim 
among  them.    He,  with  others,  had  taken  refuge  in  the 
Court  House  in  town,  and  had  made  a  gallant  fight.   Jim 
took  charge  of  some  thirty  men  as  a  rear  guard.    The 
night  was  very  dark.    The  men  on  horseback  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  fight  had  "struck  for  the  tall  timber", 
but  now  they  ivere  coming  back  in  bunches.   They  dis- 
turbed us  greatly  as  we  could  not  tell  in  the  dark 
whether  they  were  enemies  or  friends.    The  foolish  boys 
who  had  guns  kept  firing, 
THE  STAMPEDE. 

The  road  ran  through  a  very  large  prairie.   To 
the  right  and  parallel  with  the  road  Was  a  ravine  with 
almost  perpendicular  banks  about  ten  feet  high.   We  had 
some  twenty  or  thirty  horsemen  behind  the  rear  guard. 
Suddenly,  out  of  the  darkness  came  a  large  body  of 
horsemen  yelling  and  firing  as  they  came. 

The  horsemen  in  our  rear,  thinking  they  were  the 
enemy,  stampeded  and  broke  through  the  rear  guard,  but 
not  before  Brother  Jim  had  ordered  his  men  to  fire  in 
order  to  save  ourselves  from  being  trampled.    Several 
were  killed.    The  larger  body  on  their  mad,  plunging 
horses,  rode  over  us,  men  and  wagons,  and  most  of  us 

25 


were  forced  into  the  ravine.    All  were  more  or 
less     .    by  the  fall.    In  the  confusion  many 
prisoner     a  p  e  d , 

When  I  recovered  con-  I  found  near 

me  two  horses  with  the  wagon  of  the  I 
was  among  sc.-r..e  ~.  rio oners,  and  in  my  dazed 
condition  I  v  .ad  come 

"back  and  defeated  oj.:         T  Started  to  crawl  out 
to  escape  when  I  saw  a  ir\an  v;ith  a  lantern  in  the 
ditch  ordering  the  prisoners  out,     "believed  him  to 
be  a  Yankee  officer.    Then  others  c      id  they  "be- 
gan taking  the  men  LVD.    The"  ir>ar-        .e  lantern 
approached  me.    I  was  lying  on  my  fd.ce  holding  my 
breath,  he  felt  my  pulse  and  threw  my  hand  down  on 
the  hard  ground  but  I  did  not  ilir<      He  said,  "This 
poor  boy  is  dead"  .    Several  men  v;     ixed  up  under 
the  horses  and  wagons,  and  as  h>          lantern 
high  I  saw  his  face.    Joy  came  to  my  heart,  and  I 
shouted,  "Hello,  Dr.  Britts".    Dr.  Britts  was  a 
dear  friend,  and  not  only  during  the  war,  but  for 
many  years  after,  we  laughed  over  this  incident. 

Long  before  we  reached  General  Price's  army  the 
news  of  our  fight  was  the  talk  of  the  camp.    Hen 
love  to  magnify  the  deeds  of  a  boy.    Everybody  was 
my  friend,  and  all  exaggerated  what  I  had  done. 

26 


CQMMISS JOKED  CAPTAIN. 

The  second  day  after  we  had  reached  the  army 
an  orderly  came  with  the  command  for  me  to  report 
at  General  Price's  headquarters.   You  can  imagine- 
how  surprised  I  was.    I  found  a  fatherly,  white- 
haired  old  man,  with  such  a  kindly  look,  so  entire- 
ly different  from  what  I  had  imagined  the  great  sol- 
dier to  be  that  I  was  not  afraid  and  walked  right  up 
to  him.   He  took  my  hand,  and  I  stood  by  him  all  the 
time  I  was  there.    He  asked  me  many  questions.    I 
did  not  feel  that  I  had  done  anything  unusual.    I  told 
him  about  the  fight,  and  he  laughed  most  heartily.   He 
turned  to  Colonel  Sneed,  his  Adjutant  General,  and  said 
"Write  out  a  commission  to  Captain  Johnnie  Wicker sham". 
I  could  not  grasp  the  full  meaning  of  it.    I  was  or- 
dered to  report  every  day  at  headquarters.   When  I 
went  back  to  the  boys  they  all  wanted  to  know  why 
General  Price  had  sent  for  me.    I  said,  "He  gave  me 
this  paper  with  this  big  seal  on  it".   The  men  danced 
and  shouted,  and  embarrassed  me  by  waiting  on  me  with 
exaggerated  respect  and  said  that  a  captain  must  not 
do  anything  for  himself.   Whatever  I  wanted  done  I 
dust  tell  them.    It  took  me  a  long  time  to  become 
accustomed  to  my  new  honors. 

27 


Colonel  Colt  on  Green  took  charge  :        One 
day  I  was  ordered  to  his  tent.    He  told  me  to  strip 
and  put  on  the  clothes  I  found  there.     ere  he  got 
it  I  never  knew,  but  it  was  a  Confederate  Captain's  uni- 
form, and  fitted  me  perfectly.    I  was  proud,  and  yet 
I  did  not  feel.  I  deserved  the  honor  they  vrere  giving 
me,  but  I  tried  to  wear  it  "with  the  dignity  that  I 
knew  they  expected.    Everybody  who  heard  of '  me  mag- 
nified what  I  had.  done,  and  -every  soldier  saluted  me. 
How  I  wished  they  would  not.1    I  had     ^looded  bay 
horse  with  all  his  trappings.    Thinking  of  it  to- . 
day,  I  must  have. been  a  caricature;  a  little  slender 
boy  in  'an- off icer ' s  gorgeous  uniform  on  that  big  horse 
with  that  big  saddle. 

The  regiment  was  on  parade,  the  fife  and  drum 
corps  was  playing.    Colonel  Green  ordered  me  to  ride 
with  him  to  the  front.    The.  regiment  was  at  "present 
arms",  and  Colonel  Green  made  the  men  a  speech.    Turn- 
ing, he  presented  me  with  a  beautiful  pearl  handled 
sword.    It  was  small,  but  of  exquisite  workmanshi;  . 
It  was  lost  in  the  surrender  of  Vicksburg. 

The  army  stayed  at  Cassville,  Arkansas,  some  time, 
drilling,  burning  charcoal  to  make  powder,  and  molding 
bullets.  The  routine  of  camp  life  grew  monotonous  to 

28  . 


rne.    I  was  Ca.pt ain,  but 
to  perform,  and  could  go  and  c  :      .-.ill.    I  rem 
ber  Colonel  Colt  on  Green  to  the  guard  house 

for  swearing  in   ,   resenc<       and  Colonel  ?tanaett  . 
McDonald  were          il  01  me  as  if  I  wore  a  girl. 

i.'IY  FIRST 

Brother  Dick  was  C     In  of  General  Price's 
Scouts.    General  Price  erdored  him  to  go  alone  as 
far  as  he  could  toward  Rolla  in  order  to  find  out  if 
any  troops  were  in  o^  beyond  Lebanon.     I  was  home- 
. sick  and  begged  that  I  might  go  with  him.    I  appealed 
to  General  Price,  ana  then  Dick  surprised  rne  by  say- 
ing he  would  like  to .have  me.    Oh:  Curtis,  you  can- 
not imagine  how  happy   •  yes,  and  loroud  too,  I  was  to 
be  on  my  horse,  with  my  fine  pistols,  out  in  the 
woods  and  prairies  again.    Brother  Dick  treated  me 
S0  differently,      t  as  .-        -    Of  this  I  think 
I  was  more  proud  than  01          that  had  happened. 
.It  seemed  to  me         rode  everywhere.    Eow  far  or 
how  long  I  do  not  remember,  but  t;l 

Dick  with  all  his  daring,  «    autious  and  many  times 
I  held  his  horse  while  he  cr:      uP  to  a  house  for 
information. 

Finally  we  reached  ft.       ^n  section  of  the  country 
How  uneasy  and  restless  I  gr,,-  as  I  held  the  horses  and 

29 


waited  the  night  through  for  Dick  to  return.   Just 
at  daylight  he  came  back.   He  had  been  into  Lebanon. 
In  answer  to  my  questions  he  said:  "No  Johnnie,  I'll 
not  say  a  word  until  we  both  have  something  to  eat. 
Then  we  will  hold  a  council  of  war." 
LANCERS . 

We  ate  our  cold  grub,  and  he  laughingly  told  me 
there  was  only  one  company  of  Lancers  in  town,  but  a 
large  body  of  troops  some  miles  beyond.   Some  very 
foolish  officers  armed  many  Yankee  companies  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  war  with  long  hickory  poles  with  a  sharp 
steel  spear  on  the  end.   We  had  seen  an  article  in  an 
old  St.  Louis  Republican  in  which  the  writer  claimed 
that  in  the  first  fight  each  Lancer  would  have  a  Reb 
on  the  end  of  his  lance.   Dick  said  they  had  six  pickets 
out  where  I  used  to  herd  stock,  and  that  we  would  have 
some  fun  tonight. 

We  tethered  our  horses  and  slept  until  past  mid- 
night.  Again  we  looked  after  our  horses,  ate  our 
lunch  and  started  off.    It  was  a  dark  night.   Finally 
we  dismounted  and  led  our  horses.    Bill  showed  me 
t>  .rap  fire  which  had  almost  gone  out  ,  but 

it     a  long  -;ay  off.      went  down  the  hill  and 
i  >fl  Detour  coming  back  to  a  hollow. 


IHS  CIiAKGE. 

At  last  Bill  whispered,  "The  pickets  are  three 
hundred  yards  to  our  right;  look  to  your  saddle  girt; 
see  that  everything  is  right  ;  follow  me  and  do  just 
what  I  do'"  —  ;  :Are  you  ready?"    With  spurs  in  the  flanks 
of  .  our  surprised  horses,  we  were  off  like  a  shot  fro^ 
a  pistol.   .When  '.TG  reached  the  knoll  we  gave  the  Rebol 
Yell,  and  commenced  firing.    They  thought  the  entire 
Rebel  army  was  on  thorn.    The  company  in  town  heard 
the  firing  and  fled.    Bill  sent  me  clown  one  street 

ont  up  Brother.    We  kopt  yelling  and  filing, 
driving  tiiem  to  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  and  in  twenty 
.minutes  there  was  not  a  Lancer  to  be  seen.    It  was 
dark,  but  we  knew  every  part  of  the  old  town,    Dick 
said  he  was  going  home.   I  rode  my  horse  to  Father's 
barn  and  gave  him  a  big  feed. 
FIRST  KISS. 


Then  I  went^  to  Brotner  Dick's  house.    Mary,  his 
v/if  e  ,  v-'-^s  ir.  his  arms  where  she  had  jumped  from  bed 
at  hi     1,    She  gave  me  a  great  hug  and  said,  "Little 
Lizzie  Harrison  is  here".   Although  I  had  hoped  for 
this,  I  had  only  enough  courage  to  say  "Kowdy"  ,  but 
Lizzie  said,  "Oh.1  Captain  Johnniv.  ,  -won't  you  kiss  me 
too?11    I  shall  always  remember  this,  ray  first  kiss. 
How  proud  and  vain  I  was  to  have  Lizzie  see  me  in  my 

31 


new  gaudy  uniform  with  feathers  and  gold  braid. 

It  was  about  daylight  so  Mary  gave  us  a  fine  break- 
fast ,  and  I  started  out  to  see  my  sister  Sarah.    She 
was  wild  with  joy  to  see  me,  but  scared  almost  to  death 
as  she  was  nervous  and  excitable.    "Johnnie,  do  please 
take  off  those  big  pistols,-  they  might  go  off  and  hurt 
you" ,  she  cried.    Here  it  was  that  the  boy  in  me  made 
me  strut  and  brag,  and  when  I  was  in  the  midst  of  a 
boyish  recital  of  my  deeds  of  valor,  little  Lizzie 
Harrison  came  running  with  tears  streaming  down  her 
cheeks  crying:  "Johnnie,  Captain  Johnnie,  the  lane  is 
filled  with  bayonets,  and  the  cavalry  has  surrounded 
the  town".   All  the  hilarity  vanished.   My  horse  was 
half  a  mile  away  in  Father's  stable.    Sister  Sarah 
and  little  Lizzie  Harrison  were  on  their  knees  begging 
me  to  surrender.    The  boy  in  me  made  me  fold  my  arms 
and  give  them  all  a  look  of  disgust  as  I  slowly  walked, 
or  shall  I  say  strutted,  out  of  the  house.    But  when 
I  turned  the  corner  I  ran  like  the  dickens  for  my  horse. 
ffl  FIRST  GREAT  SORROW. 

I  put  on  the  bridle  and  saddle,  and  to] my  great 
horror  discovered  my  horse  was  foundered,  and  I  could 
not  make  him  take  even  a  single  step. 

Dick  was  on  his  horse  in  the  Public  Square  firing 
to  give  me  warning.    How  I  wished  my  voice  could  reach 

32 


him  so  that  ho  could  come  and  take  me  with  him  on  his 
horse.    I  closed  the  stable  door  and  fired  one  shot. 
He  knew  the  loud  report  of  my  pistol,  but  instead  of 
conning,  two  reports  rang  out  from  his  pistol  to  let  me 
knov;  that  he  felt  I  was  safe,  and  then  ho  galloped  a- 
way,  never  dreaming  that  I  was  not  on  my  good  horse  and 
about  to  join  him. 

There  arc  times,  my  boy,  in  the  crisis  even  of  a 
boy's  life,  when  events  and  circumstances,  temporarily 
at  least,  drive  youth  and  laughter  from  his  life.   Again 
I  tried  to  induce  my  horse  to  go,  but  he  could  not.  Tears 
of  helpless  rage  at  this  trick  fate  had  played  me  ran 
unheeded  down  my  cheeks  as  I  tried  to  think  of  a  way  to 
reach  Dick.   I  saw  Lizzie  running  toward  me.   Then  I 
realized  I  had  been  crying  and  was  ashamed.    "Don't 
dare  think  I  cried  because  I  am  afraid",  I  said.   She 
said,  "No,  No,  No,  but  run,  please  do,  Johnnie".   I 
carried  a  dirk  knife.   I  drew  it  out,  swung  open  the 
stable  door,  and  with  toars  streaming  down  iny  face,  I 
cut  my  beautiful  saddle  and  bridle  to  pieces.   I  thought 
of  killing  the  horse  that  I  lovod  so  well, that  no  Yankee 
might  ever  ride  him  again,  but  I  had  not  the  heart  to  do 
it.   Lizzie  fcept-  saying,  "Oh,  the  Square  is  filled  with 
soldiers,  do  please  go,  Johnnie".    I  walked  down  the 
staked  and  rider ed  fence  of  the  horse  lot  to  where  the 

33 


hazel  bushes  grew  rank  and  thick.    I  parted  them,  and 
turning  I  saw  Lizzie  standing  where  I  had  left  her.   I 
threw  a  kiss  to  her,  my  first  little  sweetheart.   That 
was  the  last  time  I  ever  saw  her. 
ALONE. 

The  lancers' never  stopped  until  they  reached  the 
main  command,  a  few  miles  from  Lebanon.    My  cousin 
Dudley  Wicker sham  was  Colonel  of  the  10th  111.  Cavalry. 
He  immediately,  on  receiving  the  reports  of  the  frighten- 
ed pickets,  ordered  an  advance,  supported  by  infantry, 
to  repel  the  supposed  advance  of  Price's  Army. 

The  Cavalry  supported  by  infantry  and  artillery 
surrounded  the  town,  and  closing  in  on  all  sides ,  in- 
stigated a  thorough  search  for  the  supposed  rebel 
command.    The  endeavor  proved  fruitless,  and  they 
finally  desisted.    Cousin  Dudley,  after  stationing  a 
strong  guard,  turned  his-,  horse  and  rode  toward  the  home 
of  his  Cousin,  my  sister  Sarah.    The  sight  of  him 
made  her  almost  hysterical.   "Oh,  Cousin  Dud,"  she 
cried,  "You  won't  have  him  shot.   Oh,  please  don't". 
"Why  Cousin  Sarah,  what  are  you  talking  about?"   "Why, 
little  brother  Johnnie,  of  course".    "What  about  little 
Johnnie?"  he  asked.    "Why  it  was  only  he  and  Brother 
Dick  that  fired  on  your  pickets".    "Do  you  mean  to  tell 
me  they  were  the  only  rebels  in  town?"  he  asked.    At 

34 


her  reply  he  was  convulsed  with  laughter,  saying  the 
company  of  Lancers  would  never  hear  the  last  of  "be- 
ing run  out  of  town  by  a  man  and  a  "boy.   He  stayed 
to  dinner i  and  quieted  Sister  Sarah's  fears  by  promising 
to  "bring  me  back  on  the  horn  of  his  saddle.   This 
incident  was  one  of  the  Colonel's  famous  war  stories. 

I  knew  every  foot  of  that  section  of  country  and 
was  not  afraid  of  being  caught.   But  Oh,  Dick,  Dick! 
what  would  he  think!  kept  passing  through  my  brain,   I 
knew  he  would  not  leave  me,  knew  he  was  waiting  and 
hunting  somewhere  for  me.   I  thought  of  all  the  kind 
things  he  had  said  to  me  on  our  long  ride.   He  had 
even  called  me. "old  pardner"  and  talked  to  me  some- 
times as  if  I  really  were  a  man.   The  memories  of  his 
companionship  were  the  sweetest  I  had  ever  known. 

Since  early  morning  I  had  heedlessly  roamed  through 
scrub  oaks  and  thick  hazel  brush  close  to  Lebanon,  hop- 
ing to  find  Dick.   I  saw  two  small  scouting  parties 
of  the  Yankee  Cavalry.   I  remember  I  prayed  to  come 
across  one,  yes,  even  two  of  them,  that  I  might  fight 
them  for  their  horses,  and  in  my  boyish  mind,  I  planned 
v.hen  we  met  to  shoot  high  so  I  would  not  hit  >  the  horse, 
I  sat  down  and  held  a  council  of  war  with  myself. 

COUNCIL  OP  WAR. 

The  council  decided  that  I  would  change  my  course 

35 


and  go  direct  to  the  father  of  Lieutenant  Joe  Craw-- 
ford who  lived  £        /:  miles  fro 
reached  there  -about  9  o'clock  and  told  iny  story. 
They  gave  me  a  hearty  welcome,  and  a  fine  dinner, 
and  while  one  of  t>     .nt  to  the  brush  for  a  horse, 
the  women  folks  prepared  me  an  abundance  of.  grub,  a 
blanket  and  a  Federal  overcoat.        iorse  proved  to 
be  a  fine  young  sorrel  of  good  blood.    How  I  rejoiced 
as  they  led  him  prancing  up  to  the  door.   ' The  worn 
all  kissed  me  with  tears  in  their  eyes,  and  I  rode  away 
into  the  darkness.    I  kept  saying  over  and  over  again, 
"Dick,  Dick,  what  will  you  think  of  nic?"    After  I 
had  ridden  a  mile  or  more,  I  shouted  "Dick,  Dick", -at 
the  top  of  my  voice,  hoping  he  might  hear  me.    I  kv.pt 
my  course  by  the  stars  which  were  but  dimly  shining, 
and  turned  in  the  direction  of  tho  v .••,  ringf ield  road. 
Dick,  in  my  opinion,  was  the  greatest  of  scouts,  and 
from  him  I  had  learned  much.       .r  I  longed  to  do  some- 
thing really  wonderful.   Again  and  again  I  would 
imitate  him;  got  off  my  horse,  and  put  my  ear  to  the 
ground.    Dick  said  a  scout  could  never  succeed  without 
using  great  caution.     -en  I  was  within  a  mile  and  a 
half  of  the  Springfield  road,  I  distinctly  heard 
Cavalry  passing.    I  got  on  my  horse  and  rode  to  a 
skirt  of  timber  on  the  hillside.   I  walked  through  the 
.all  timber  until  I  reached  a  point  within  a  quarter 

36 


of  a  mile  of  the  road  where  I  tied  my  horse  and  crept 
nearer.    I  found  it  was  a  large  command.    Clouds  had 
gathered,  and  it  was  quite  dark.    I  thought  of  my 
Federal  coat  and  wondered  if  I  could  beat  Dick  and  learn 
more  than  he  could.    The  boy  in  me  came  to  the  top 
again.    I  could  scarcely  keep  from  shouting  aloud. 
RIDING  WITH  THE  10th  ILL.  CAVALRY . 

As  a  daredevil  plan  popped  into  my  mind,  I  ran 
most  of  the  way  back  to  my  horse  and  rode  within  a  short 
distance  of  the  road.    Watching  my  chance  I  fell  in 
with  the  Federal  Cavalry.   They  were  too  tired  and 
sleepy  to  notice  me.   A  man  lit  his  pipe,  and  by  the 
flash  from  the  match,  I  saw  it  was  the  Tenth  I-llinois 
Cavalry.   Then  your  Grandfather  had  one  of  the  close 
calls  of  his  life.    The  great  surprise  caught  me  off 
my  guard,  and  in  a  youthful  voice  I  shouted,  "Tenth 
Illinois  Cavalry.1"     It  was  the  regiment  commanded 
by  my  dearest  cousin,  Colonel  Dudley  Wicker sham.    He 
had  once  given  me  a  fine  saddle  and  bridle  for  my  horse- 
manship, and  I  loved  him.    Patting  spurs  to  my  horse 
I  galloped  away  in  the  darkness  which  kept  them  from 
questioning  me.    I  was  between  two  fires.    I  wanted 
to  ride  up  and  tell  the  Colonel  for  I  felt  guilty  of 
spying  upon  him.    But  the  blue  overcoat  I  wore  brought 
me  back  to  a  realization  of  my  situation.    I  was  a  spy, 

37 


and  J.f  caught  would  be  shot.   t)ick  had  said  "caution". 
I  rode  many  miles  with  them,  listening  to  the  conversa- 
tion of  the  men,  arid  I  learned  there  was  no  army  back 
of  them.    They  were  only  trying  to  locate  Price. 

Day  was  breaking  and  it  was  getting  lighter,  but  I 
had  no  difficulty  in  riding  into  the  brush  by  the  road- 
side and  escaping.    I  was  very  happy.    I  rode  several 
miles  from  the  road,  tied  my  horse  cut  to  grass,  ate 
from  the  bountiful  "grub",  wrapped  myself  in  a  blanket, 
with  my  saddle  for  a  pillow,  and  slept  only  as.  a  boy 
can.    I  did  not  wake  until  past  noon,  very  sore  ttnd 
still  sleepy.    I  washed  in  a  little  creek,  ate  my 
breakfast- with  the  appetite  of  a  boy,  and  held,  another 
council  of  war.    The  question  was  whether  I  should 
ride  like  Paul  Revere  direct  tc  General  Price  with  my 
news. or  wait  and  try  to  find  Lick.    I  felt  sure  he  was 
somewhere  around  watching  the  cavalry.    I  was  so  happy 
for  I  was  certain  I  had  more  news  than  he.    I  saddled 
up.    The  "council"  decided  to  take  chances  and  start 
for  General  Pric  . 
MEETING  DICK. 

I  rode  all  that  day  and  toward  evening  I  saw  a 
lone  horr        If  it  was  Dick  he  would  know  the  re- 
port of  my  pistol? for  it  sounded  like  a  young  cannon. 
I  fired.   Waiting  in  suspense,  seemingly  for  minutes, 

38 


to  my  joy  I  saw  the  smoke  of  two  discharges  as  Dick 
wheeled  his  horse  and  started  toward  me,    I  cried 
in  his  arms  so  long  I  couldn't  tell  him  a  thing.   I 
think  Dick  cried  too,  but  in  the  after  years  he  would 
never  acknowledge  it. 
REPORTING  TO  GEITERAL  PRICE. 

We  had  eaten  our  supper,  and  our  horses  were 
resting  while  feasting  on  the  prairie  grass.    Dick 
made  out  his  report,  and  I  started  for  General  Price's 
headquarters  more  than  a  hundred  miles  away.   About 
ten  o'clock  the  second  morning  I  rode  into  camp.   Head- 
quarters Guards  saluted  and  held  my  horse,    I  was  so 
tired  and  sore  I  would  have  fallen  had  not  a  soldier 
almost  carried  me  to  General  Price.    My  friend  Colonel 
Emmett  McDonald,  happened  to  be  there,  and  while  my 
body  was  exhausted,  my  tongue  was  not  affected.    They 
made  me  repeat  the  story  over  and  over  again.    I  know 
I  cried  when  I  told  of  leaving  my  horse.    Then  I  was 
put  to  bed,  but  before  going  I  insisted  on  tending  my 
horse.    General  Price  said  that  he  would  personally 
see  that  he  had  every  attention. 
THE  gIRST  TIME  I  HEARD  "DIXIE". 

We  stayed  in  camp  quite  a  long  while  when  one 
day  there  came  word  to  prepare  three  day's  cooked  ra- 
tions and  get  ready  to  move.    There  was  joy  in  camp. 

39 


\7e  started  on  the  inarch.    This  was  the  fir^t  time  I 
had  heard  "Dixie".    The  Headquarter     id  hod  just 
learned  it.    How  we  all  yelled.1      ;r  .after  during 
the  "bloody  years  to  follow,  when  that  great  war  tune 
was  played,  the  army  yelled  as  though  they  had  never 
before  heard  it.    On  the  weary  marches, I  remember  how 
it  rested  tired  legs  and  made  well  the  sore  feet.   I 
have  seen  the  battle  line  waver,  but  when  the  band  Y/ould 
start  "Dixie",  spontaneous  yells  would  sweep  the  ranks. 
It  made  heros  of  the  men,  and  I  have  •v.lways  thought  of 
the  thousands  of  brave  and  gallant  soldiers  it  has 
led  to  death. 

The  "Star  Spangled  Banner",  "Maryland  My  Maryland", 
and  all  the  other  songs  of  both1  North- and  South  combined, 
cannot  fill  an  army  with  such  enthusiasm  as  our  dear 
sweet  old  "Dixie".    To  this  day  it  thrills  me  -to  the 
very  core  of  my  being. 
OUR  RETURN  TO  SPRINGFIELD.  MISSOURI. 

V7e  were  on  the  march  and  learned  we  were  going 
back  to  Springfield.         1    and  shouted.    I 
remember  the  loviiv    i come  the  people  gave  us.   General 
Price  was  a  very  1<  i    -  n,  and  except  in        cies, 
rode  in  a  carriage.    I  usually  rode  with  hin  while  an 
orderly  led  my  horse.    Colonel  ^irtrriott      .aid  gave  . 
me  a  new  suit  of  clothes,  3  ;iven 

40 


me  "by  Colonel  Green,  and  I  tell  you,  my  boy,  I  felt 
quite  proud.    General  Pi-ice  was  a  great  hero,  and  the 
idol,  not  only  of  the  arrny  but  of  all  the  people  as 
well. 
KISSES. 

History  tells  us  from  the  beginning,  of  woman's 
love  for  heroes  and  her  desire  to  express  that  love 
in  kisses.    You  remember  how  they  ruined  the  reputa- 
tion of  Captain  Hobson.    General  Price  was  wiser,  and 
when  they  gathered  around  the  carriage  and  tried  to 
kiss  him,  he  stood  me  in  the  carriage  door  and  said: 
"Kiss  Captain  -Johnnie",  -  and  in  those  days  there  was 
scarcely  a  woman  in  Springfield  that  had.  not,  by  proxy, 
kissed  General  Price.    I  grew  to  like  it  and  its 
flavor  still  lasts.    Every  afternoon  General  Price 
rode  in  his  carriage.    I  accompanied  him,  and  the  per- 
formance was  repeated. 
MY  COMMAND. 

We  were  all  still  Missouri  State  Troops.    You 
have  the  paper,  "The  Springfield  Army  Argus",  of  that 
date  in  the  ivory  frame,  containing  the  order  of  General 
Price  for  all  boys  in  the  army  under  sixteen  years  of 
age  to  report  to  Captain  Johnnie  Wickersham,  to  be 
organized  into  a  company.    You  would  have  been  in- 
terested to  see  them,  day  after  day,  just  as  soon  as 

41 


they  received  the  orders  (for  they  were  read  to  each 
division  )  flock  to  an  old  school  house  that  was  given 
me  for  company  headquarters.    They  surely  were  a 
tough  lot,  many  of  them  St.  Louis  "boys.    I  think, 
like  myself,  all  had.  run  away  from  home  and  joined  the 
army.   General  McBride  and  Colonels  Green  and  McDonald 
.took  a  great  interest  in  the  company.   They  drilled 
me  ond  helped  drill  the  boys. 

The  question  of  arms  was  a  serious  one.   Our  army 
was  now  fairly  well  armed,  largely  with  those  captured 
from  the  enemy,  but  we  had  many  useless  small-b6re 
squirrel  rifles.   General  Price's  armories  were  th< 

different  blacksmith's  shops  in  town.   My  two  Colonolc 

i 

agreed  to  take  charge  of  the  arming  of  my  company,   Select- 
ing eighty-two  old  cap  rifles  from  the  hundreds  on  hanfl 
of  similar  design  and  make,  they  sent  them  to  a  shop, 
detailed  blacksmith  and  Machinist,  and  had  the  barrels 
cut  off  to  uniform  short  length  and  rebored  or  drilled 
them  to  the  same  caliber.    Then  they  v/ere  polished, 
and  with  bullet  moulds  and  powder  horns  they  were  turn- 
ed over  to  ipy  company. 

In  the  meantime  the  ladies  sewing  society  of 
Springfield  had  made  uniforms  for  the  entire  company. 
By  the  time  the  clothes  and  guns  were  ready,  thanks  to 
my  friends,  the  company  was  well  drilled.    ure  had  a 

42 


drum  and  fife  corps  of  five,  but  no  "bass  drum,  to 

our  great  sorrow.   How  those  little  rascals  could 

play.1 

THE  REVIEW. 

How  can  a  civilian  understand  or  appreciate  any- 
thing of  the  pride  and  j.oy  that  was  in  all  our  hearts 
as  we  marched  that  bright,  sunny,  wintry,  Sunday 
morning  to  be  reviewed  by  all  our  Generals1  officers. 
Thousands  of  men  and  all  the  ladies  of  town  were  in 
the  Public  Square.   General  Price,  in  our  estimation, 
was  not  as  great  a  man  as  the  least  of  us. 

There  were  no  other  troops  on  parade,  but  housetops 
and  porches  were  lined  with  men  and  women.    The  boys, 
under  strict  orders,  were  told  before  starting  what 
was  expected  of  them.   When  we  reached  the  edge  of  the 
Square  the  drum  corps  struck  up  "Dixie".    The  thousands 
yelled,  but  we  heard  them  not.   We  did  not  see  the 
waving  of  hankerchiefs  —  eyes  "twenty  paces  to  the 
front"  they  maintained.    I  drew  my  pearl-handled 
sword  as  I  thought  a  gladiator  would  draw  it.  "Kep, 
Hep,  Hep,"  in  perfect  accord  to  the  music,  and  like  old 
troopers,  with  heads  erect  they  marched.    Reaching  the 
centre  of  the  Square,  \vith  "Company  Front",  we  marched 
in  perfect  line  to  General  Price's  carriage.   He  was 
standfng  outside  bareheaded.   "Halt,  Present  Arms", 


I  saluted.   He  waved  his  hand.     :.  drilled  for  half 
an  hour  and  marched  "back  to  the  school  house,  "but  be- 
fore we  reached  it,  the  ranks  were  broken,  every  boy 
talking  and  bragging,  and  no  power  on  earth  could  have 
controlled  them. 
LITTLE  THIEVES. 

That  night,  as  on  almost  every  previous  night, 
we  had  fried  chicken.    They  knew  every  roost  in  the 
country.   Young  pigs  were  their  delight,  and  we  al- 
ways had  more,  and  a  greater  variety  to  eat  than  General 
Price.    The  boys  were  known  as  the  biggest  bunch  of 
thieves  in  the  army,  and  the  soldiers  laughed  at  their 
deviltry.    I  counted  them  each  night  as  they  lay  rolled 
in  their  blankets  on  the  school  benches.    One  roll 
looked  suspicious  so  I  kicked  it,  and  found  it  was  L 
big  roll  of  plunder.   Next  morning  the  guard  brought 
the  boy  t'o  me.   I  said:  "Joe,  you  \vere  out  last  night 
stealing".    With  the  most  innocent  look  and  laugh  he. 
said:  "Why  Captain,  for  goodness  sake,  I  nearly  died 
laughing  when  you  kicked  me  last  night  and  you  thought 
it  wasn't  me".    They  were  really  uncontrollable,  and 
often  brought  shame  and  sorrow  to  me, 
E£  FIRST  PICKET  DUTY. 

I  was  ordered  to  take  twelve  of  my  Company  and  gc 
on  picket  duty  six  miles  down  the  Memphis  Road.    I  was 

44 


given  the  countersign  with  orders  to  let  no  one  pass 
without  it.   About  twelve  o'clock  I  saw  a  great  cloud 
of  dust  on  the  road,  then  saw  many  men,  horses  and 
artillery  approaching*    I  sent  two  of  the  boys  back  to 
report,  and  ask  for  orders.    The  men  wore  uniforms 
with  gold  braid  that  glistened  in  the  sunlight.    I 
surely  was  troubled.   The  boys  said;  "Captain,  let's 
fight  them".    On  they  came.   The  ten  of  us  were  in 
perfect  line  across  the  road,  and  at  my  orders  guns 
cocked,  and  at  their  shoulders.    An  army  officer 
dressed  similar  to  Fremont's  body  guards  rode  in  front. 
In  a  voice  I  tried  to  make  big  and  strong  I  cried, 
"Halt".   He  kept  coming.    I  yelled  "If  you  pass  that 
scrub  oak  I'll  fire".   He  shouted,  "I  am  General  Hale 
of  the  confederate  army".   "Dismount,  and  give  the 
countersign",  I  said.   "I  don't  know  it",  he  replied. 
His  command  halted.    He  and  another  officer  gave  their 
horses  to  an  orderly  and  advanced.    When  he  came  with- 
in ten  paces  of  rne  I  said  "Halt".    He  said,  "What  is 
the  meaning  of  this  damned  foolishness?"    He  commenced 
to  swear  in  a  very  loud  voice,    I  said,  "Halt,  pro- 
fanity is  against  the  army  regulations,  and  if  you 
don't  quit  it  I'll  fire".    He  said,  "Say  have  those 
damned  kids  uncocked  their  guns?"      I  told  the  boys 
not  to  uncock  their  guns,  but  not  to  take  them  from 


tlieir  shoulders.   He  see]     uc]i  relieved  and  saicl 
he  would  order  Iiib  conriand  to  charge  us.   I  said  "If 
you  move  ou'c  of  your  traces,  or        \y  o orrimand ,  I 
v/ill  kill  you".    He  looked  int      e}res  and  cursed 
those  "little  devils".    I  knew  they  would  fire,  and 
they  believed  I  would  give  the  command.    At  this  point 
Colonel  Emmet t  McDonald,  who  had  met  my  two  boys,  came 
galloping  up.    He  told  me  to  let  then  pass.     This 
little  incident  created  quite  a  furor  in  the  army. 
General  Hale  felt  greatly  insulted  and  swore  he  would 
have  me  cashiered.       :i.s  a  very  ostentatious,  pompous 
and  dictatorial  man.    He  had  been  to  'Vest  Point,  a. 
looked  down  on  the  officers  in  the   nay  as  mere  civilians 
who  knew  nothing  of  the  manly  art  of  warfare.    He 
knew  this  incident  was  'the  campf ire  talk  of  trie  arm"  . 
Later,  to  his  .sorrow.  I  met  him  under  quite  different 
circumstances, 
LEAVING-  SPRINGFIELD, 

Again  th         'ed,  but  this  time  in  retreat. 
The  federals  w     Doming  in  force.    As  General  Price 
did  not  wish  to  risk  -a  battle  with  only  Missouri  State 
Troop;-..     -carted  for  the  Ozark  Mountains  in  Arkansas. 
Every  night  I  could  see  roasting  on  our  company's 
campf ires  a  calf,  pig,  or  sheep,  or  something  that  did 
not  come  from  our  commissary  stores.    The  enemy  was 

46 


close  after  us,  and  we  had  several  rear-guard  skirm- 
ishes. 

Our  regiment  was  the  rear-guard.    Brother  Jim 
was- Lieutenant  of  •  Company  E.   A  brave  cavalry  charge 
penetrated  our  line  and  sabred  some  of  our  men.    They 
paid  very  dearly  for  their  rashness.   We  formed  a  junc- 
tion with  the  Arkansas  troops  and  some  five  thousand 
Indians  under  General  Mclntosh.    General  Van  Dorn 
had  been  sent  from  Virginia  and  assumed  command  of  the 
combined  forces,  and,  after  much  drilling,  preparation 
and  delay,  we  started  north.    General  Mclntosh,  a 
tall,  long-haired  man,  whom  I  think  was  part  Cherokee, 
had  command  of  the  Indians.     They  certainly  were 
a  great  sight  to  our  men.    They  wore  many- colored 
blankets  and  feathers,  and  rode  the  poorest  and 
thine st  ponies  I  had  ever  seen.    I  remember  how  we 
all  talked  of  them  and  of  what  great  things  they  woula 
do  when  we  met  the  enemy. 

General  Hale  was  placed  in  command  of  our 
brigade.   Colonel  Colt  on  Green  was  commander  of  our 
regiment.    I  wish,  my  boy,  I  could  draw  a  picture  of 
my  ideal  soldier,  Colonel  Emmet t  McDonald  of  the 
Artillery.   .He  was  iny  ideal  of  a  soldier.    His  long 
black  hair  reached  to  his  shoulders,  and  his  skin  was 
as  fair  and  fresh  as  a  girl's.   I 'remember  he  was  not 


a  preacher,  but  he  used  s  preachers  privilege  of  using 
the  Masters  name.    My  company  of  boys  was  assigned 
as  support  to  his  battery.     also  had  in  our  brigade 
and  under  command  of  General  Hale,  a  battery  consist- 
ing of  6-6  Ib. ,  and  2-12  Ib.    Howitzers, with  men  in 
uniform  and  gold  braid.    All  of  our  artillery  in  those 
days  was  smooth  bore  and  similar  to  the  guns  you  see 
now  in  the  parks.    They  would  be  useless  in  this  age 
of  modern  warfare,  but  in  that  bloody  conflict  they 
brought  death  and  desolation. 
ADVANCING  ON  SEIGLE  AT  CASSVILLE,  ARKANSAS. 

We  marched  several  days  and  learned  the  enemy's 
forces  were  divided.    By  forced  march  all  -night  we 
surprised  the  troops  under  General  Seigel's  command, 
at  daylight.    We  captured  their  jamp  equipage  and 
much  plunder.    They  retreated  for  the  main  body  many 
miles  away  at  Pea  Ridge.    Colonel  Colt  on  Green  command- 
ed the  infantry  in  the  aovance.    The  running  fight 
occurred  along  the  road  that  followed  a  small  creek  in 
a  wide  valley, with  a  high  ra.nge  of  hills  on  either 
side.    Our  flanks  were  covered  with  Indians  riding 
in  single  file-  on  the  crest  of  the  hills.    The  creek 
and  the  road  were  very  crooked  and  winding,  and  behind 
every  bend,  where  the  small  trees  grew  thick,  the 
enemy's  guns  poured  grape  and  canister  shot  into  our 

48 


ranks . 

At  each  assault  our  battery  wheeled  into  line, 
unlimbered  and  returned  the  fire.    Ours  seemed  the 
better  gunmen.    At  one  place  we  counted  sixteen  dead 
and  many  wounded  from  our  fire.      literally  ran 
after  them.    The  day  was  very  warm  and  but  few  had 
canteens.    How  plain  is  the  picture  of  the  men  lying 
down  and  drinking  the  muddy  water  of  the  creek  that 
the  Federals  had  passed  through.    During  the  artillery 
fire  not  an  Indian  could  be  seen.    They  had  disappeared 
ov^r  the  ridge,  proving  entirely  useless  as  they  could 
not  stand  "big  guns"  as  they  called  them.   Their  squirrel 
rifles  were  of  short  range,  and  some  of  them  were 
wounded  more  than  a  mile  away  by  Federal  minnie  balls. 
They  were  really  not  in  action  at  all.    Two  of  my 
boys  were  killed  and  three  wounded  in  this  running  fight. 

Through  the  thick  smoke  I  saw  an  officer  force 
his  horse  to  the  front  with  orders  for  Colonel  McDonald. 
In  the  act  of.  saluting  a  cannon  ball  passed  through  the 
horse >  severing  the  man's  leg  above  the  knee.   Dr.  Brittrs 
shouted  to  me  for  help  to  extricate  the  horse  from  the 
officer.    When  this  was  done  the  Doctor  cut  the  flesh 
that  held  the  almost  severed  limb,  and  threw  it  with  the 
high  boot  still  on,  out  of  the  road.    The  bone  was 
badlj"  shattered.      th  what  looked  to  me  like  a 

49 


common  butcher's  knife,  he  cut  the  flesh  back,  sawed 
out  the  shattered  bone,  washed  the  wound  with  water 
from  his  canteen,  then  sewed  and  "bandaged  the  stump, 
and 'in  twenty  minutes  the  man  was  being  carried  to 
the  ambulance,  and  we  boys  were  running  to  catch  up 
with  our  command. 
THE  BATTLE  OF  PEA  RIDGE. 

I  am  not  going  to  try  to  describe  the  Battle  of 
Pea  Ridge, ( sometimes  called  Elk  Horn  after  an  old 
tavern  of  that  name  on  the  top  of  the  range.)  The 
"Whys"  and  the  "Wherefores"  I  knew  nothing  of,  and 
c^n  tell  you  only  of  my  company  and  the  incidents  which 
I  recall.    We  marched  all  night  long,  up  the  steep 
hillsides,  as  we  had  left  the  creek  road  behind  us; 
we  heard  firing  in' the  valley  and  knew  that  other 
troops  were  taking  our  place.    V/e  had  orders  to  make 
no  noise.    I  afterwards  learned  we  had  made  a  detour, 
and  we  Missourians  had  passed  by,  and  were  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Federal  army.    At  daybreak  Colonel 
McDonald  had  planted  his  entire  battery  on  a  high  knoll 
overlooking  their  •   camp.    This  hill  or  knoll  was, 
so  steep  that  the  horses  were  unhitched  and  the  men 
aided  my  boys,  and  with  whispered  orders  pulled  the 
guns  to  the  top.    The  officers  orders  were  in  hushed 
voices.    The  first  indication  the  enemy  had  of  our 

50 


presence  was  the  rapid  firing  of  McDonald's  eight  guns 
loaded  with  canister  shot.     3  captured  their  tents, 
commissary  and  quartermaster's  stores  and,  had  the 
rest  of  the  commands  been  as  prompt,  the  day  would 
surely  have  been  won.    The  Federals  were  veteran  troops, 
and  their  officers  rallied  them.   Again  we  drove  them 
farther  and  farther  back.    The  Arkansas  troops  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Federal  army  were  most  unfortunate 
on  the  skirmish  line,  and  early  in  the  day  their  tv/o 
leading  officers  were  killed,  and  the  third  captured, 
consequently  they  fought  without  system  or  command. 
General  Van  Dorn  was  v/ith  us  and  learned  too  late  of 
this  unfortunate  incident. 

There  came  a  lull  in  the  fighting.    I  was  most 
anxious  about  Brother  Jim  as  Colonel  Colt  on  Green's 
command  had  borne  the  brunt  of  the  day's  fighting.   The 
men  were      tired  after  a  forty-hour  tramp.    They 
lay  down  on  the  crest  of  the  ridge  that  the  enemy  was 
shelling,    I  found  Jim,  his  face  and  hands  black  with 
powder,  lying  down.    I  spoke  to  him  but  he  did  not 
answer,    I  thought  him  dead,  and  knelt  by  him  crying, 
"Jim,  Jim,  Jimy   He  turned  over  and  said  "Kid,  what 
are  you  crying  for?"   He  had  been  fast  asleep. 
COLONEL       HCDOHALD. 

Night  came  and  both  armies  slept.    At  break  of 

51 


day  the  dogs  of  war  turned  loose  along  our  entire  front. 

It  was  a  bitter  fight.1   Our  battery  was  posted  on  a 
ridge  and  the  enemy  in  two  lines,  charged  it.    The 
boys  lay  flat  on  the  ground  beside  every  gun.    We  re- 
pulsed them  and  they  came  again.    How  our  men  and 
horses  suffered.1   I  have  always  thought  they  would  have 
taken  our  guns  except  for  the  daring  of  Colonel  McDonald. 
Above  the  shouts  of  both  armies  (we  were  not  much  more 
than  a  hundred  yards  apart  )  and  the  roar  of  musketry 
and  cannon,  all  heard  his  clarion  voice  ring  "-out  "Ad- 
vance by  hand,  by  G-.1  advance  by  hand.'"    V.'e  grabbed 
the  wheels  of  the  guns  and  pushed  them  forward,  not 
stopping  for  the  firing,  and  poured  grape,  double  charged, 
into  their  ranks  at  which  they  broke  and  fled. 

Oh,  how  my  poor  boys  suffered.1    I  have  a  photo- 
graph on  my  brain  that  time  has  never  effaced.   One 
of  our  battery  horses,  with  a  great  hole  in  his  side 
from  a  shell,  was  turned  loose  —  astride  him,  without 
saddle  or  bridle,  was  one  of  my  poor  boys  trying  to 
reach  the  hospital  with  one  leg  swinging  loose,  held 
only  by  a  piece  of  flesh,  'the  blood  streaming.     I 
knew  afterwards  that  there  were  times  when  a  serious 
wound,  would  so  shock  the  nervous  syst'em  that  for  a. 
time  it  deadened  pain.    I  saw  an  Irishman  mortally 
wounded,  leaning  against  a  large  tree  to  keep  from 

52 


falling,  loading  and  firing  his  gun.    When  the  smoke 
had  somewhat  cleared  away,  McDonald  found  that  thore 
were  no  supporting  troops  near  him.    Colonel  Green 
was  a  mile  to  our  left,  and  we  knew  he  was  hardpressed. 

=  had  scarcely  a  sound  horse  in  our  battery.    They 
were  unhitching  one  which  had  been  wounded  in  the  neck 
close  to  the  collar. 
I  AM  SENT  FOR  ORDERS. 

•Donald  examined  it  and  ordered  me  to  ride 
harness  and  all,  to  find  General  Hale,  tell  him  of  our 
condition,  and  ask  for  orders.    I  rode  back  over  th'~ 
hill  into  the  valley  beyond  and  found  a  battery  of  ei~ht 
•;s  that  had  not  been  in  action.    They  told  me  General 
Hale,  with  his  escort,  had  left  and  taken  a  certain 
direction.    I  forced  my  wounded  horse  into  a  run, 
caught  up  with  him,  saluted,  told  my  story  and  asked 
for  orders.    He  ordered  me  to  fall  in  behind  him.    I 
was  but  a  boy  and  did  not  know  what  to  do.    I  rode 
nearly  a  mile,  and  could  stand  it  no  longer,  so  saluted 
again  and  asked  for  orders.    He  cursed  me  and  told 
of  the  defeat  of  our  Arkansas  troops  on  the  other  side. 
I  told  him  of  the  condition  of  Colonel  Green.    He 
said  in  less  than  an  hour  both  Green  and  McDonald  \vould 

;risoners,  and  ordered  rue  to  fall  in.    I  told  him 
if  they  were  taken  prisoners  my  boys  would  be  too,  and 

53 


I  would  be  taken  with  them.    He  tried  to  catch  my 
"bridle  rein,  but  I  was  off.   HOY;  I  did  whip  that  old 
horse.    I  again  passed  the  Memphis  battery  but  said 
nothing.    McDonald  was  st ill : sore  pressed.    When  I 
told  hin  —  well,  my  boy,  I  can't  write  what  he  said, 
but  I  never  heard  such  an  outburst  of  language  from 
human  lips. 
ORDERED  TO  TAKE  THE  HORSES  FROM  THE_IDLE  BATTERY. 

With  joy  I  shouted,  "Colonel,  there  is  a  battery 
over  behind  the  hill  awaiting  orders.    I  never  said 
a  word  as  I  came  by.    I  know  they  haven't  fired  a  shot 
and  they  have  six  fine  horses  to  each  gun  and  caisson". 
His  eyes  flashed  like  fire.    "Take  everyone  of  your 
boys  and  bring  me .four  horses  from  every  caisson,  and 
two  from  every  gun.  .   Tell  thorn  to  throw  their  ammuni- 
tion away  and  start  South.    If  they  refuse,  shoot  to 
kill.   Don't  you  dare  come  back  without  them".    The 
boys  had  heard  every  word  the  Colonel  had  spoken.   He 
was  their  God.    In  their  opinion  he  outranked  Generals 
Van  Dorn,  Price,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  army. 

The  boys  fell  in,  and  at  double  quick  we  reached 
the  batt  i  .   ••!  had  ordered  them  to  see  that  not  only 
the  officers,  but  every  man  was  covered  by  their  guns. 
There  was  no  par lying.  .  I  gave  the  captain  Colonel 
Donald's  orders,  and  told  him  what  General  Hale  had 

•  54- 


Said.    As  previously  ordered,  my  detail  unhitched  the 
horses,  while  the  rest  of  the  boys  covered  tho  men  \vith 
ns.    The  men  did  not  want  to  die,  but  realized 
the  "little  devils",  as  they  were  called,  would  obey 
orders.    How  they  did  curse  ur. ,'   A  Sergeant  struck  at 
one  of  the  boys.    He  was  instantly  killed.    I  reached 
Colonel  McDonald  with  more  than  forty  horses.   I  never 
shall  forget  the  shouts  with  -.vhiclQ  "~c  ~vere  received 
3KPOBI1IC;  JO  COLONEL  GREZN. 

I  was  ordered  to  ride  like  the  wind  to  Colonel 
Green.   "Tell  him  what  General  Hale  said,  and- that  I 
will  meet  him  on  the  hill  by  the  two  big  pines". 

Colonel  Colt  on  Green  was  medium  sized,  very  dark, 
with  close  cropped  hair,  slender  and  as  erect  and 
straight  as  an  arrow,  a  gentleman  and  a  soldier  from 
i  toes  to  the  crown  of  his  head.   As  I  see  him  now, 

ading  in  his  stirrups,  his  face  purple  with  rage, 
oaths  in  French,  Italian  and  Spanish  flowing  from  his 
lips,  "Damn  him,  he  ordered  mcv  at  all  hazards,  to  hold 

a-blankety,  blank,  blank,  etc.   "Tell  HcDonald 
I'll  bo  there  in  an  hour11.'   The  retreat  bcerr,n.    1  inet . 

..Id,  with  all  his  guns  safe,  slqwly  re- 
treating but  stopping  to  fire  when  the  guns  were  loaded. 
t  of  ti  -one. 


Colonel  McDonald  had  lost  two-thirds  of  his  men, 
and  the  ones  that  were  left,  except  in  the  excitement 
of  battle,  were  almost  useless  to  work  the  guns.   Our 
guns  were  muzzle  loaders,  with  a  touch  hole  which  had 
to  be  primed  with  powder  and  lighted  by  the  flash  of 
a  match.    After  each  firing,  the  gun  had  to  be  wiped 
out  by  a  swab  on  the  end  of  a  pole.    The  gunner  was 
obliged,  in  order  to  prevent  explosion,  to  place  his 

thumb  over  the  touch  hole  to  keep  air  from  reaching 

» 

the  chamber  of  the  gun  when  loading.    The  guns  grew 
so  hot  that  the  mens  thumbs  were  badly  burned. 


Our  retreat  was  most  orderly.    At  nightfall  we 
went  into  camp  in  the  bed  of  an  old  dry  stream.    It 
v/as  very  wide  and  covered  with  flat  thin  rocks.   Thore 
was  an  epidemic  of  measles,  and  almost  every  man  in 
the  command  was  a  victim,  and  after  they  had  washed  the 
powder  and  dirt  from  their  faces,  the  skin  looked  like 
raw  beef.   Colonel  McDonald  and  my  company  had  failed 
to  connect  .with  the  commissary  wagons  and  so  had  nothing 
to  eat,  when  lo,  and  behold.1  my  old  father-  rode  into 
camp  with  two  sacks  of  flour  "which  he  had  taken  from 
the  Federal  commissary  that  we  had  captured.  He  had 
learned  the  army  was  coming  north  and  v/as  wild  to  see  hi: 
boys,  but  had  not  I.     ibl'e  to  find  us  until  we  had 

56 


gone  into  camp.    My,  but  it  was  a  feast.1    Some  mixed 
the  flour  in  water  and  put  it  on  the  flat  thin  rocks 
over  the  fire,  while  others  cut  hazel  switches,  wrapped 
the  dough  around  one  end  and  held  it  over  the  fire.   We 
had  no  salt.   After  satisfying  our  hunger  in  this  manner 
we  lay  down  in  the  dry  bed  of  the  creek  and  were  soon 
fast  asleep. 
CLOUDBURST. 

Perhaps  it  was  on  account  of  the  cannonading,  but 
that  night  Pea  Ridge  had  a  cloud  burst ,  ard  there  came 
on  the  sleeping  soldiers,  without  warning,  a  deluge  of 
water  nearly  four  feet  high.    The  Creek  became  a  raging 
torrent,  and  the  men  were  thankful  to  get  out  alive,  even 
if  they  did  lose  some  of  their  guns,  blankets  and  traps. 
Fortunately  in  those,  days  we  never  undressed  when  we 
went  to  bed.    The  men  (as  you  might  suppose)  were  wet 
to  the  .skin,  but  I  never  heard  of  a  fatal  case  of 
measles,  although  we  marched  in  our  wet  clothes  until 
we  reached  permanent  camp. 
GENERAL  HALE  RELEASED  PROM  COMMA.  HP. 

Two  weeks  later  General  Hale  and  escort  came  into 
camp.    Colonels  Green  and  McDonald  had  brought  charges 
against  him.    Generals  Price  and  Van  Dorn  had  me  on  the 
witness  stand,  and  I  related  the  incident  above  mentioned. 
He  never  again  held  a  command  in  the  army, 

57 


DISBANDING  MY  COMPANY. 

How  came  a  general  reorganization  of  the  army  from 
State  troops  to  regular  Confederate  troops.    A  few 
would  not  enlist. 

The  solemnity  of  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Con- 
federate States  of  America  greatly  impressed  me.   This 
was  in  the  early  years  of  the  war,     ^y  were  more,  yes, 
much  more  particular  at  that  period  than  later.    Any 
boy  could  join  the  Stets  troops,  but  to  be  a  government 
soldier  then,  one  mu^t  "be  over  the  age  limit.    They 
refused,  for  this  cause,  to  accept  my  company  and  it 
was  disbanded,  much  to  the  disappointment  of  U3  all. 
History  tells  us  that  youths  make  the  best  soldiers.   The 
realization  of  danger  is  lacking.   Ever  in  our  front  we 
had  that  picturesque,  gallant  soldier,  Colonel  Emmett 
McDonald.    I  see  hi:.i  now  with  coat  off,  shirt  sleeves 
rolled  above  his  elbow,  hair  hanging  ov^r  his  shoulders, 
his  long  sword  held  over  his  head,  running  from  one 
gun  to  another  shouting  encouragement  to  his  men  and 
to  my  boys  —  a  perfect  "dare-devil"  was.  Colonel  Emmott 
McDonald.    With  such  ir.en  for  their  excmple,  their  horo, 
their  idol,  do  you  wonaer  that  the  boys  performed  deeds 
of  valor  that  would  cause  older  men  to  hesitate?   Without 
a  single  exception  they  proved  themselves  heroes.    They 

scattered  and  joined  different"  commands,  largely  cavalry, 

53 


and   stayed  in  Arkansas   and  Missouri,   while   all  tho 

confederate  troops  were  transferred   east    of  the   Mississippi 

River. 

EL INT-LOCK  MUSKETS. 

Before  the  transfer  of  the  troops  to  General  Joseph 
E.  Johnson's  army,  some  five  hundred  cases  or  big  boxes 
containing  guns  that  had  been  stored  at  army  ports  in 
the  South,  were  shipped  to  us.    They  had  been  manufactured 

thirty  years  before  the  war.    I "remember  with  what 
curiosity  we  watched  them  unload  a  train  of  these  boxes, 
and  our  surprise  and  disappointment  when  we  found  they 
were  all  flint-lock  muskets  with  funny  little  bayonets, 
and  hundreds  of  boxes_  of  ammunition.    They,  too,  were 
antique.   Each  paper  cartridge  contained  powder,  ball, 
and  three  buckshot .    What  fun  we  had  with  them  for  a 
few  days,    Ho  ramrod  was  needed.    First  bite  the  end  of 
the  cartridge  off,  prime  the  lock  with  powder  and  -drop 
the  rest  in  the  muzzle  of  the  gun.    If  held  perpendicular , 
we  could  hear  the  cartridge  hit  the  bottom.    Instructions 
were  "never  to  let  the  muzzle  of  the  gun  drop  below 
level",  lest  the  load  be  dropped  out.    We  rolled  on  the 
ground  and  shouted  with  laughter  to  see  the  men  trying  to 
shoot  them,  both  eyes  shut  for  fear  the  flash  in  the 
pan  would  blind  them.    Bang.1  went  the  gun,  and  the 
target,  an  old  barn  a  hundred  yards  away,  remained  un- 

59 


touched.    But  the  great  fun  occurred  when  some  care- 
less or  uninformed  soldier  let  the  muzzle  drop  a 
little.    The  cartridge  had  perhaps  slipped  half  the 
length  of  the  barrel  with  powder  strung  along  to  meet 

it.   Chin,  Chin,  bang.1  went  the  gun  and  man  lying  flat 

I 

on  his  back  ten  feet  away,  certain  he  was  shot.   Laugh.' 
We  laughed  until  tears  ran  down  our  cheeks.    The 
soldier  would  gradually  recover,  sit  up  and  look  around 
wondering  what  had  hit  him,  and  seeing  us  all  shouting 
with  laughter  would  break  the  old  gun  over  a  stump. 
From  what  he  said,  you  would  have  thought,  he  had  for- 
gotten his  home,  flag  and  country;  in  fact,  everything 
but  his  God.    The  guns  were  never  used. 

With  few  exceptions  our  army  was  but  a  body  of 
raw  recruits.   A  few  weeks  of  drill  and  discipline  rnadt 
a  great  change.    From  morning  until  night  there  was  no 
rest,  —  drill,  drill,  drill,    I  was  acting  as  orderly 
for  General  Price. 
RAID  HTTP  MISSOURI. 

Colonel  Burbage  and  Brother  Dick  (who  was  a.  major 
now)  was'  ordered  "with  some  six  or  seven  hundred  cavalry 
to  make  a  raid  into  Missouri.    I  begged  General  Price 
to  let  me  go  with  them  and  he  consented. 

The  object  or  destination  of  our  expedition,  I 
did  not  know  and  I  did  not  care.    We  rode  many  miles 

60 


in  the  seven  days  journey,  following  few  roads.   Our 
guides  led  us  through  an  almost  uninhabited  section. 
We  rode  at  will,  with  songs,  jokes  and  laughter.    One 
afternoon  we  halted  at  a  stream;  orders  were  "unsaddle 
and  feed,  and  pay  particular  attention  to  your  horse's 
feet".    Each  company  had  its  own  blacksmiths.    The 
shoes  of  all  the  horses  were  examined,  and  if  loose  were 
renailed.   After  nightfall  we  were  on  our  horses  for 
a  long  night  rid  .    Our  direction  was  entirely  changed. 
Officers  rode  along  the  line  saying,  "Ho  loud  talking,  move 
as  quietly  as  possible" .    We  spoke  only  in  whispers 
and  not  one  of  us  was  then  tired  or  sleepy.    Just  be- 
fore morning  we  went  into  camp  in  a  dense  forest.   "No 
foraging,  leaving  camp,  or  fires"  were  the  orders.    We 
then  knev  we  were  at  last  in  the  enemy's  country.   About 
ten  o'clock  next  morning  brother  Dick  .'--.nd  two  scouts 
came  riding  their  tired  horses  into  camp.    They  talked 
v/ith  Colonel  Burbage  qptite  a  long  1       While  Brother 
Dick  was  eating  his  breakfast  he  told  me,  in  confidence, 
that  they  had  seen  a  very  large  army  train.    The  wagon 
train  was  more  than  two  miles  long,  with  a .heavy  es- 
cort of  cavalry.    He  was  sure  they  would  camp  tonight 
in  an  old  field  where  the  main  road  crossed  the  creek, 
about  six  or  seven  miles  from  where  we  now  were.    Very 
quietly  we  saddled  and  followed  the  creek  to  within  a 

61 


mile  of  the  fcrd.   The  command  was  divided  and  hidden 
in  the  timber.   A  few  scouts  were  sent  out  to  watch 
the  enemy  and  report  if  they  had  changed  their  course. 
I  CAPTURE  TWO  PRISONERS. 

We  scattered,  hid  our  horses  and  crawled  in  the 
tall  prairie  grass  until  we  could  see  the  main  road. 
How  my  heart  beat  as  I  \vatched  that  long  train  wind- 
ing its  way  over  the  crooked  prairie  road.    I  tried  to 
count  them  but  failed.    There  was  a  large  body  of 
cavalry  in  their  front,  squads  lined  either  side,  with 
the  main  body  bringing  up  the  rear.    Had  my  horse  not 
been  tied  in  timber  nearly  a  mile  away,  I  would,  out 
of  curiosity,  have  slipped  back  to  camp  to  learn  what 
disposition  Colonel  Burbage  had  made  of  our  men  to 
surprise  them.    I  felt  sure  the  larger  part  would  be 
dismounted. 

It  was  the  hour  of  sundown.    Small  parties  of 
from  two  to  ten  wore  leaving  the  command  to  forage  in 
every  direction.    I  crawled  back  through  the  tall  -grass 
as  I  saw  two  soldiers  start  toward  a,  lonely  cabin  in 
my  direction. 

How,  my  boy,  if  there  is  anything  in  this 'world. 
I  despise  it  is  a  braggart,  and  in  relating  the  in- 
cidents recorded  here  I  am  not  trying  to  impress  you 
with  the  bravery  of  your  grandfather,  but  rather  with 

62 


his  childish  ignorance  of  danger.   As  I  now  look  back 
I  see  a  joyous,  happy  boy,  one  who  never  made  a  com- 
plaint.   He  laughed  at  the  hardships,  and  often  made 
the  old  soldiers  ashamed  of  their  grumbling.    Hard- 
ships had  made  a.  perfect  boy,  physically,  of  him,  but 
he  was  still  a  boy,  and  lacked  discretion  and  judg- 
ment.   I  have  torn  up  the  pages,  giving 'the  detail  of 
the  capture  of  the  two  federal  soldiers  I  mentioned.   It 
seemed  too  much  like  bragging.  .  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
I  got  the  drop  on  them  first.    It  was  just  at  sundown, 
and  with  their  belts  hanging  from  the  horn  of  my  saddle, 
I  marched  them  three  miles  away  to  our  camp. 

Later,  I  learned  that  Colonel  Burbsge  had,  as  I 
hoped,  hidden  his  men  in  ambush.    The  great  train  crossed 
the  ford;  the  first  wagon  stopped  in  the  centre  of  the 
field,  and  each  succeeding  wagon  made  the  circle  larger 
and  larger  until  they  were  all  packed  as  closely  together 
as  possible.    Then  our  men  opened  firo  from  all  sides 
at  once.    It  did  not  last  long  as  they  soon  surrendered. 
A  detail  of  our  men  unhitched  the  six  mules  from  each 
wagon  and  led  them  away  while  another  detail,  by  hand, 
pushed  the  wagons  as  close  as  possible  to  each  other  and 

set  them  on  fire. 
I  GET  AN  OVERCOAT. 

I,  with  my  prisoners,  was- about  two  miles  away 

63 


when  the  firing  began.    I  was  sure  we  would  whip 
them  and  kept  my  course.    One  of  my  prisoners  was  a 
boy,  not  much  older  than  myself,  and  had  it  not  been 
for  the  cowardice  of  his  big  companion,  I  would  not 
be  here  writing  these  memories. 

We  galloped  into  the  firelight.    What  a  sight  it 
was.1    The  entire  train  of  wagons  loaded  with  quarter- 
master and  commissary  stores,  with  the  aid  of  coal  oil, 
was  a  mass  of  flames.    However,  that  did  not  deter  the 
soldiers  from  getting  what,  to  them  was  most  valuable 
plunder.   When  I  rode  up  with  my  prisoners  they  were 
pounced  upon  by  many  soldiers  for  their  overcoats.   The 
little  fellow  fought  for  his.   Colonel  Burbage  rode  up 
and  asked  what  the  trouble  was.   The  men  said,  "He  won't 
give  up  his  overcoat".    Colonel  Burbage  ordered  him 
to  turn  it  over  to  the  men.   He  said,  "Colonel,  if  I 
have  to  give  it  up,  I  want  to  give  it  to  this  little 
fellow  who  captured  me".    Colonel  said,  "That's  right, 
give  it  to  Captain  Johnnie". 

The  prisoners  were  all  paroled. 
1  MOTE  A  LETTER  TO  SISTER  SAPIAH. 

Thi&  boy  and  I  sat  on  the  tongue  of  a  burning 
wagon  and  talked.    He  said  the  reason  he  fought  for 
his  overcoat  was  that  it  was  not  a  regular  army  coat, 
but  had  been  given  him  by  his  Father.    He  was  happy  at 

64 


being  paroled,  and  of  returning  home.    I  inquired 
if  he  would  go  through  Lebanon,  Missouri.    He  said 
that  was  his  only  way  so  I  asked  him  if  he  would 
take  a  .letter,  to  my  sister  Sarah.    He  was  very  happy 
to  do  so.    We  found  paper  and  I  wrote  telling  her  all 
I  could  of  the  events,  etc.,  which  letter  he  de.livered 
immediately  on-  his  arrival  at  Lebanon,  and  during  his 
visit  he  told  in  detail  all  the  incidents  regarding  our 
fight . • 

With  several  hundred  mules,  m§«-ny  of  them  loaded 
•down  with  plunder,  we  had  a  monotonous  trip  back.    We 
found  the  army  drilling.    How  long  wo  stayed  I  do 
not  know. 
CROSSING  TO 

I  do  not  recall  incidents  of  especial  interest 
until'  our  crossing  to  the  East  side  of  the  Hit sissippi 
F.iv  joined        y  of  General  Joseph  E.  • 

Johnson  at  Shiloh,  Tennessee,  and  I  saw  in  all  but  little 
of  that.    I'  remember  we  tried  to  cut  the  Federal  army 
in  two,  and  t.       :arched  through  bog  after  bog,  and 
arrived  in  time  only  to  have  a  fight  'and  s    '-mt  appear- 
ed to  be  the  entire  Federal  army.    Later  we  fell  back. 
If  all  the  battles  that  -          1  had  matur  d  there 

;.d  have  been  no  one  ITorth  or  South  left  to  "<.<rito 
history. 

65 


GENERAL  VAN 

I  remember  at  Corinth.   Except  our  breast  works 
at  Atlanta,  Georgia ,  and  the  Federal  works  at  Frank- 
lin, our  works  at  Corinth  were  the  most  impregnable 
I  have  ever  seen. 

It  seems  to  me  almost  marvelous  that  time  and  age 
do  not  mar  or  blot  out  the  imprints  of  a  picture  I  saw 
there.   As  if  it  were  only  yesterday,  I  see  standing 
on  the  head  log  of  our  works  at  Corinth,  a  man  who 
from  his  outline  you  would  know  to  be  every  inch  a 
soldier,  with  field  glasses  to  his  eyes,  in  plain  view, 
not  only  of  sharpshooters,  but  their  big  batteries  of 
thirty-two  pound  Parrott  gun. 

My  boy,  you  knov/  the  effect  the  cry  of  a  hawk  has. 
on  chickens;  yet  that  is  nothing  in  any  sense  or  mean- 
ing, to  the  effect- that  the  crying,  yelling,  shrieking, 
moaning  whistle  of  a  thirty-two  pound  shell  has  on  men. 
Behind  every  tree  the  men  were  lying  on  the  ground  with 
the  tree  directly  between  them  and  the  Federal  battery, 
some  trees  had  fully  thirty  men  in  perfect  line  behind 
them,  and  even  when  lying  flat  on  the  ground  the  men 
would  try  to  duck  their  heads  as  those  crying  monsters 
whizzed  by.   Hot  so  with  Major  General  Van  Dorn.    He 
stood  on  that  head  log  like  a  statue;  not  a  muscle  moved, 
and  this  incident  made  him  the  idol  of  the  army.   A 

66 


shell  plowed  its  way  into  the  ground;  it  failed  to 
explode,    An  officer  ar-d  some  men  dug  it  up  to  see 
what  the  devilish  thing  looked,  like  $  they  being  new 
to  us.    The  officer  tried  to  unscrew  the  cap  from  the 
end  and  it  exploded.    A  piece  of  the  shell  cut  away 
the  calves  of  both  his  legs,  and  killed  and  wounded 
several  men.    A  shell  struck  a  caisson  and  exploded 
it,  when  the  smoke  cleared  there  was  scarcely  anything 
left.    Men,  horses  and  even  wheels  were  not  recogniz- 
able,   Such  is  war;  may  you  never  know  anything  of  it 
except  from  history, 
QHE  MST1NG  ARMY- 


I  know  xve  fought  each  other  like  wild  animals.    It 
made  but  little  difference,  we  can  now  see,  in'  the 
general  result,  who  won  the  victory  on  any  special  "battle- 
field,  We  of  the  South  had  no  men  to  take  the  place 
of  our  dead  and  wounded.    Every  able  bodied  man  was 
in  the  ranks,  and  each  dBy  our  army  grew  less  and  less, 
and  its  dead,  wounded  and  prisoners  could  never  be  re- 
placed.   The  northern  army,  while  their  loss  was  as 
great  as  ours,  had  new  and  fresh  men  day  by  day  taking 
the  place  of  the  dead;  and  instead  of  their  army  grow- 
ing less  as  the  war  went  on,  they  had  a  greater  number 
in  the  field  at  its  close  than  at  any  time  previous. 
With  us  it  was  really  extermination.    We  crossed  over 

67 


and  went  into  the  Battle  of  Shiloh  an  army  corps; 
we  came  out  of  Vicksburg,  a  small  division,  then  a 
brigade,  and  that  gallant  body  of  men  at  the  close 
of  the  war  mustered  less  than  a  regiment.    It  seems 
marvelous,  looking  back  more  than  fifty  years,  that 
we  did  not  realize  these  conditions.    What  influence 
or  power  compelled  us  to  hang  on,  with  more  than  bull 
dog  tenacity,  will  never  be  known.    In  victory  or 
defeat;  in  the  long  marches  of  both  day  .and  night, 
half  fed,  half  clothed,,  and  half  shod;  that  gallant 
army,  never  discouraged,  never  complaining,  never  paid, 
fought  on  through  those  bloody  years -.until  their  old 
battle  flags  had  been  shot  into  shreds;  until  there 
was.no  one  left  to  defend  it. 
A  PEAYING  NATION. 

.We  were  a  praying  nation  in  those  days,  both  North 
and  South.    Each  regiment,  had  its  chaplain.    In  al- 
most every  home,  no. matter  how  humble,  how  crude  and 
plain  its  furnishings,  there  usually  stood  in  the  best 
room  the  stand  or  centre  table.,  on  which  lay  the  large 
family  Bible.    The  custom  in  almost  every  home  in  that 
long  ago  was  for  father  or  mother  to  read  each  night 
a  chapter  from  that  Holy  Book,  and  kneel  and  pray  God 
to  spare  the  life  of  their  loved  ones,  to  stop  the  bloody 

war.    "Peace,  Peace,  Oh  God",  was  the  cry  of  the  Nation. 

• 

68 


God  answered  not  their  prayers.      continued  to 
butcher  each  other. 

SOUTHER: 

In  all  the  histories  of  the  world  you  'cannot  find 
record  of  braver  or  more  gallant  soldiers  than  those  of 
the  South.   But  there  was  a  people  so  much  braver,  so 
much  more  self-sacrificing,  so  much  nobler,  that  the 
luster  of  the  chivalry  of  the  soldiery  of  the  South  was 
dimmed  by  comparison.    I  mean  the  mothers  of  the  South. 
Last  year,  Father  was  killed  way  off  yonder  in  Virginia, 
and  his  body  thrown  with  hundreds  of  others  in  that- 
unmarked  trench.    The  oldest  died  six  months  ago  at 
Shiloh;  the  next  boy  was  brought  home  to  be  a  mother's 
loving  care  the  rest  of  her  sad  life.'   She  called  her 
precious  baby  boy,  pointed  to  his  father's  gun,  and 
with  tears  streaming  from  her  eyes  said,  "Ily  son,  for 
the  honor  of  your  father,  your  brothers,  your  country 
and  myself,  take  it  and  go",   Hy  boy,  it  hurts  me  to 
write  this  to  you,  but  I  wish  you  to  know 'what  war 
really  means.    I  pray  God  that  you  and  none  that  come 
after  you  may  have  the  experience  of  your  grandfather. 
GENERAL  SHEI^ 

General  Sherman  said  "War  is  Hell".  He  was  con- 
sidered a  great  authority  in  those  days.  I  myself  do 
not  know,  but  if  in  any  way  hell  described  in  the  Bible 

69 


is  similar  to  our  Civil  War,  avoid  it.   Don't  go 
there.   You  would  find  it  a  place  of  ruin,  desola- 
tion and  suffering. 

The  hell  General  Sherman  meant  was  once  a 
country  of  beautiful  and  happy  homes;  of  a  prosper- 
ous, chivalrous  people,  and  growing  towns  and  villages; 
a  Christian  nation  whose  church  spires  dotted  the 
entire  landscape.   Around  the  happy  fire  sides  were 
children  with  laughter  and  song,  as  quiet  and  peace- 
ful and  loving  as  our  own  homes  of  today.    Imagine 
a  territory  much  larger  than  the  State  of  California, 
with  a  much  greater  population,  left  desolate  and 
ruined.   Women  and  children  fleeing  in  the  night  from 
their  burning  homes,  carrying  on  their  backs  all  their 
belongings  to  —  they  knew  not  where.    Not  a  house, 
barn,  fence,  was  left,  not  a  bushel  of  grain  of  any 
kind,  and  after  the  war  the  only  sign  of  former  habita- 
tion was  the  thousands  and  thousands  of  chimneys  that 
would  not  burn. 
CURIOSITY. 

How,  my  boy,  if  you  will  go  with  me,  for  a  little 
while  at  least,  we  will  leave  the  rattle  of  musketry, 
and  roar  of  artillery. 

I  was  acting  aide  to  Brigadier  General  Colt  on  Green, 
and  by  his  orders  I  was  riding  at  his  side.    We  had 

70 


left  the  army  in  our  rear  and  were  riding  over  the 
country,  stopping  at  nightfall  at  some  house,  or 
sleeping  in  our  blankets  under  the  stars.    I  had  as 
much  curiosity  as  you  have,  and  was  as  prone  to  ask 
questions,  but  many  times  found  it  against  the  rules 
of  the  army  school.    "Obey  orders  and  ask  no  ques- 
tions" had  been  told  me  more  than  once.    I  remember 
there  was  no  order  harder  for  me  to  obey.    Had  I  been 
a  man,  I  think  I  would  have  spent  most  of  my  time  in 
the  guard  house  for  this  breach  of  discipline. 

General  Green,  when  we  were  alone,  frequently 
called  me  "my  son",  and  I  believe  he  loved  me.    I 
think  he  enjoyed  the  curiosity  he  saw  in  my  face,  but 
never  once  did  he  enlighten  me  as  to  the  purpose  of 
our  ride;  notwithstanding  it  was  a  joyous  holiday  to 
.me.    After  many  days  we  came,  one  lovely  morning, 
to  a  beautiful  little  river.    There  was  a  guard  standing 
at  the  ferry  boat,  and  when  he  examined  our  passports, 
he  saluted,  and  we  ferried  across  in  the  little  boat. 
There  was  a  large  cable-  or  rope  swung  across  the  river, 
and  when  he  shoved  the  boat  off,  the  guy  ropes  attached 
by  pulleys  to  the  cable,  caused  the  current  to  swing  our 
boat  to  the  other  side. 
EAIRYLAM). 

I  wish  I  could  describe  the  "Fairyland"  that  the 

71 


little  boat  brought  us  to.    It  seemed  to  us  both  to 
be  Paradise,  the  Garden  of  Eden.    The  whole  face  of 
nature  seemed  changed.   As  we  rode  along  that  shady 
road  we  heard  not  the  fife  and  drum,  but  birds  singing 
in  the  trees,  shrubs-,  and  vines  that  seemed  the  most 
beautiful  and  fragrant  and  green,  God  ever  created. 
We  saw  squirrels  running  up  "the  trees,  and  just  ahead,  in 
the  road,  was  a  covey  of  quail  with  no  sign  of  fear, 
gave  us  the  right-of-way.    The -road  had  known  but  little 
service.    There  were  no  deep  ruts,  caused  by  the  heavy 
wheels  of  the  artillery.    War  had  not  yet  reached  this 
Paradise  of  beauty  and  peace.    It  was  like  being  trans- 
ported from  the  "Hell"  I  have  been  telling  you  of,  to 
the  Heaven  I  hope  for.    Our  r@jins  hung  loose  from  the 
pommels  of  our  saddles,  our  horses  walked  at  will, 
nibbling  the  green  things  by  the  wayside.   We  spoke  not. 
My  mind  had  taken  me  back  home;  I  was  on  my  good  horse 
out  on  the  prairie.    Suddenly  General  Green  said, '"Halt " 
and  uncovering  his  head  he  offered  the  first"  and  only 
prayer  I  ever  heard  him  make,    "Peace,  Oh  God,  give  us 
peace".    His  cheeks  were  wet  with  tears.    It  was  the 
only  time  I  ever  knew  him  to  be  ashamed.   He  leaned  over, 
put  his  hand  on  mine,  and  said,  "My  dear  boy,  never  men- 
tion this". 

We  stopped  at  a  spring  for  lunch.    There  was  a 

72 


rustic  scat  made  from   i  by  which  was 

covered  and  shaded  by  honeysuckle.    Again  we  saddled 
and  rode  until  through  the  well-tended  trees  we  saw 
a  wide  and  long  valley,  all  in  cotton,  with  the  negroes 
in  their  white  clothes  at  work.   Away  yonder  in  the 
hills  on  our  right  were  droves  of  sheep  and  cattle. 
The  dove  of  peace  seemed  to  hover  over  all,  and  yonder 
through  that  lane  of  tall  poplars,  on  a  knoll,  stood 
a  great  white  house. 
A  SOUTHERN  HOME, 

How  it  grew  in  proportion  and  beauty  as  we  neared 
it.    Today,  I  remember  it  as  the  most  beautiful  house 
I  have  ever  seen.   It  looked  like  a  -white  city,  with 
its  numerous  negro's  cabins,  gin  houses,  barns,  and  out 
buildings,  all  of  the  same  swanny  TThite.  I  can  see  it  now, 
with  its  great  Corinthian  columns,  wide,  vine-covered 
balconies,  and  the  great  wide  massive  steps  leading  to 
it. 

Two  negroes  in  livery  held  our  horses.    General 
Green  sent  in  his  card  and  credentials.    Then  a  big, 
pompous  butler,  black  as  night,  with  many  bows  and  curt- 
sies, showed  us  into  the  reception  room.    I  have  been 
in  many  beautiful  homes  since  then  (have  admire:!  what 
we  call  art,  refinement  and  elegance  of  the  present  day), 
but  never  before,  or  since,  has  such  a  perfect  picture  of 

73 


a  home,  true  in  every  sense,  crossed  my  vision.    The 
ceilings  were  fully  twenty  feet  high,  frescoed  by  a 
great  artist;  the  walls  were  covered  with  paintings 
in  massive  gold  frames;  the  furniture,  priceless  old 
mahogany . 
LITTLE  MARY. 

We  stood  to  meet  a  grand  old  white-haired  gentle- 
man, formerly  a  major  in  the  United  States  Army.   Ke 
had  lost  a  leg  in  the  war  with  Mexico,  and  now  stood 
supported  by  crutches.    The  sweetest,  most  beautiful, 
white-haired  old  lady,  in  lace  cap  and  hoop  skirt  stood 
by  his  side.    They  gave  us  a  welcome  that  only  southern 
people  can  give.    Our  introductions  over,  General  Green 
had  said  flattering  things  of      ; le  he  and  our  host 
were  talking,  the  lady  said,  "Cc-ptar-.n  Johnnie,  come 
stand  by  rne".    She  was  almost  the  only  woman  who  had 
spoken  to  me  since  the  war  began,  and  when  she  put  her 
arm  around  me  as  I  stood  by  her,  I  had  to  fight  to  keep 
the  tears  back. 

She  called  Mary,  her  only  little  girl,  and  in- 
troduced me  to  her.    How  plain  is  that  picture.   Mary 
stood  on  the  other  side,  a.nd  her  mother's  arm  was  around 
her.    They  asked  many  questions,  and  as  I  felt  free 
from  embarrassment,  talked  freely.    Finally  we  were  sent 
upstairs  to  dress  for  dinner.    A  bright  black  negro  boy 

74 


was-;  given  me  as  my  servant.    I  will  not  try  to  tell 
you  of  my  room.    It  was  the  most  beautiful  one  I . ever 
had  seen.    The  boy  asked,  me  tc  take  off  my  clothes. 
He  emptied  rny  pockets,  and  gave  my  clothes  to  a  wait- 
ing negro.    There  was  an  old  fashioned,  zinc  bath  tub. 
Think  of  it,  my  boy.1   I  do  not  believe  I  had  been  in 
a  regular  bath  tub  since  we  had  moved  from  St.  Louis. 
He  scrubbed  and  scrubbed  and  scrubbed  me,  and  at  last 
said,  "Massa  Captain  Johnnie,  you  just  stay  in  the  tub 
and  soak,  I'll  be  back  in  a  minute".    I  learned  ..after- 
wards he  had  gone  to  his  ilissus  and  told  of  the  wretched, 
dilapidated  condition  of  my  underclothing.    She  gave 
him  the  underclothes  of  her  baby  boy  who  was  in  the  army. 
My  clothes,  you  should  have  seen  them,  I  scarcel}7"  be- 
lieved they  were  mine.    They  were  not  only  cleaned  and 
pressed,  but  the  brass  buttons  and  gold  braid  were 
burnished.    My  boots  were  cleaned  and  polished.    I 
saw  myself  in  a  mirror  for  the  first  time  since  the 
war  began.    Joe,  my  black  boy,  brought  in  my  red  silk 
sash,  with  belt  and  sword.    I  buckled  it  around  me, 
stood  before  the  glass,  while  Joe  danced  with  delight. 
Kot  only  was -the  pearl  handle-  of  my  sword  cleaned,  but 
the  scabbard,  brass  chains  and  belt  looked  as  if  they 
were  fresh  from  the  jewelry  store.    I  fear,  my  boy,  had 
a  centra  eeught  me  as  I  ;;toocl  before  the  glass,  I  would 

75 


have  been  a  fine  subject  for  "Vanity  Fair". 

Supper  was  announced.    Gene.ral  Green  met  me  at 
the  head  of  those  wonderful  stairs.    Kow  I  longed  to 
straddle  the  bannisters  and  take  that  long,  winding 
ride  to  the  bottom.     e  were  both  surprised  at*:  the 
change  in  the  other.    He  said,  "Well,  my  little  mas- 
cot, they  have  changed  you  into  a  dude".    "General, 
I  can  return  the  compliment",  I  replied  (which  he  did 
not  seem  to  appreciate).     To  us,  it  -ras  most  surely 
a  banquet  with  wine  at  each  plate.   V/c  were  barely 
seated  when  General  Green  remarked,  "Captain  Johnnie 
doesn!t  care  for  wine".    The  wine  glasses  were  immediate- 
ly removed  from  my  place,  and  during  the  two  weeks  I 
was  there  it  was  never  again  at  my  plate.    We  all  had 
big  embroidered  napkins.    I  was  uncertain  what  to  do 
with  mine  as  I  did  so  wish  to  be  on  my  best  behavior. 
Then  I  saw  all  the  others  tuck  them  under  their  chins, 
and  spread  them  out  on  their  breasts.    I  did  the  same. 
If  that  practical  old  custom  were  obtained  today,  your 
grandfather  would  not  be  such  a  regular  patron  of  the 
cleaners. 
I  TELL  MY  STORIES. 

It  was  not  cold,  but  there  was  a  hickory  fire  in 
the  great  fire  place  in  the  living  room.    Father,  mother, 
daughter  and  guests  were  seated  in  the  firelight.    General 

76 


Green  and  our  host  insisted  upon  my  relating  in- 
cidents: of  our  army  life.    He  used  to  have  to  or- 
der me  to  tell  stories  to  his  guests,  but  this  night 
Mother  asked  me,  little  Mary  pleaded,  and  my  clothes 
being  so  clean  and  bright,  I  willingly  stood  up  to 
tell  my  tale.    Little  Mary  said,  "Wait,  please,"  and, 
turning  to  her  parents,  asked  "May  I  call  the  ser- 
vants?"   At  their  consent  she  passed  out  of  the 
door  to  return  shortly  with  twelve  or  fourteen  house 
servants,  including  my  boy,  Joe.    How  quietly  they 
came  in  and  squatted  in  a  semi-circle  on  the  floor  in 
the  background.    I  was  asked  to  stand  on  the  hearth 
with  my  back  to  the  firelight.    The  candles  were 
snuffed;  little  Mary  was  on  the  rug  at  my  feet.    I 
told  many  of  the  incidents  which  I  have  here  previously 
related* 

The  mind  is  truly  God's  great  photographer;  Only 
death  can  make  their  pictures  fade.   If  an  art  photo- 
graph were  in  my  hand  today  it  would  show  o;:ly  the 
bleak,  dead  outlines;  while  I  have  always  in  mind  the 
living,  perfect  picture  of  the  brightest  and  happiest 
night  of  my  boyhood  life.    When  we  said  good-night, 
Mother  kissed  me  on  the  forehead,  and  I  was  very  happy. 
When  I  went  to  bed  Joe  took  my  clothes  and  boots  out 
of  the  room,   IText  morning  as  I  said  "Come"  to  his 

77 


rap,  he  placed  a  silver  tray  with  coffee  and  crackers 
on  the  little  table  by  my  bed.    When  I  was  dressed 

I  found  not  only  the  holes  in  my  pockets,  but  every 
rip  and  tear  in  my  uniform  neatly  mended.    Those  were 
surely  happy  days. 

II  THE  PIG  GROVE. 

Next  morning  little  Mary  said,  "Come  with  me 
Captain  Johnnie  to  the  fig  grove".    We  strolled  through 
the  most  beautiful,  picturesque  gardens,  and  I  no- 
ticed she  carried  a  basket  covered  with  a  napkin.   "Mary, 
let  me  carry  the  basket",   She  in  her  pretty,  coquettish 
way,  refused.   "What  is  it?"  I  asked.    She  said,  "  IT, 
contains  a  beautiful  silver  platter  with  sugar  and 
creamer  to  match,  that  belonged  to  my  great  grand- 
father".   "What  are  you  bringing  it  out  here  for?" 
I  could  not  resist  asking.    "Have  patience  a  little 
longer,  and  you  will  know".    When  we  had  reached 
the  orchards,  and  were  among  the  fig  trees,  she  said, 
"Gather  only  the  ugliest,  biggest,  blackest  ones".    I 
brought  them  to  her.    With  skillful  hands,  she  pre- 
pared them,  and  from  a  beautiful  dish,  in  a  rustic, 
vine clad  bower,  we  ate  them.    Could  it  be  that  only 
yesterday  I  was  on  the  firing  line? 

When  we  reached  home,  Mother,  Pat her  and  General 
Green  were  sitting  on  the  porch.   Mary  said,  "Mother, 

70 


•what  do  you  think  Captain  Johnnie  said  to  me  as  we 
were  eating  creamed  figs  in  the  bower?"     "I  don't 
know,  what  did  he  say?"    Ke  said,  "Mary,  are  you 
real?"    "Are  we  really  flesh  and  blood,  or  is  this 
only  a  dream?"   "He  frightened  me  and  we  came  home." 
I  can  see  that  sweet,  white-haired  mother  standing 
there,  and  can  hear  her  saying,  "No,  my  child,  in  your 
innocence  you  cannot  appreciate  that  for  two  years  he 
has  been  away  from  home,  with  men,  amid  the  .carnage 
of  battle,  and  roar  of  artillery,  and  on  this,  his 
first  day  from  it,  he  goes  with  you,  my  child,  to  the 
quiet,  peaceful  bower  to  eat  creamed  figs  prepared  by 
your  hands.    It  would  be  a  marvel  if  he  did  not  feel 
he  was  dreaming.    I  hope  he  and  the  General  will  stay  . 
with  us  until  he  can  realize  it  is  no  dream" .    With 
wet  eyes  turned  to  Heaven,  and  almost  in  a  whisper,  she 
said,  "Oh,  God,  let  strife,  suffering  and  death  cease. 
Spare,  oh  spare  ray  two  sons." 
COMPANY  OF  BOY  ARTILLERY. 

There  were  no  able-bodied  men  left  in  thie  entire 
section.    Had  there  been  one,  and  he  had  not  joined  the 
army,  he  would  have  been  tarred  and  feathered.    But 
there  were  a  lot  of  boys  too  young  even  for  our  army 
to  accept.    They  had  organized  a  company  of  artillery, 
and  had  three  breech  loading,  one  pound  guns,  pretty 

79 


little  brass  ones,  really 

Through  General  Green,  and  our  host  and  the 
"darkies"  the  boys  had  heard  of  me,  and  to  our  sur- 
prise one  afternoon,  the  Company,  with  one  horse 
drawing  each  gun,  paraded  and  drilled  on  the  lawn 
in  front  of  the  house.    Our  host  and  General  Green 
made  them  a  speech.    They  introduced  me,  and  I  said 
something,  and  with  much  boyish  cheering,  and  many 
hurrahs,  they  elected  me  Honorary  Captain.    They 
were  anxious  for  a  fight,  so  the  older  heads  got  to- 
gether and  planned  our  battle  scheme. 

It  was  some  twenty  miles  to  the  Mississippi  River. 
Ten  miles  farther 'was  a  great  bend  where  the  channel 
ran  close  to  our  side.    By  water  it  was  six  miles 
around'  the  bend,  but  only  two  ir.il  os  across  the  neck  by 
land.    To  make  my  story  short,  the  second  day  at  day- 
light, you  could  have  seen  a  company  of  thirty  boys, 
starting  for  the  bend.    The  entire  community  was  at 
fever  heat  with  excitement.   Every  boy  was  loaded 
down  with  cookies,  doughnuts  and  goodies.    Little 
Mary  saw  to  it  that  my  bag  was  full.    The  levees  on 
either  side  of  the  river  were  enormous  breastworks. 
The  next  morning  we  had  dug  out  large  flat  places- in 
them  for  our  little  guns.    The  barrels  were  just- 
above  the  ground.    Ammunition  was  carried  and  placed 

80 


in  piles  beside  them.   We  saw  the  smoke  of  a  trans- 
port coming,  and  with  difficulty  kept  the  boys  from 
firing,  or  crawling  up  and  looking  over  the  embank- 
ment.  Nearer  and  nearer  came  the  boat,  and  our  ex- 
citement and  nervousness  grew  in  proportion.    The 
boat  was  loaded  with  troops.    She  was  in  our  immedi- 
ate front,  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  away.    "Fire I" 
and  the  three  guns  popped,  and  kept  popping.    You  ne- 
ver saw  such  surprise  and  excitement  as  there  was  on 
that  boat.    Shouting  men  were  running  in  every  direc- 
tion.   The  boat  stopped,  then  went  ahead.    The  sol- 
diers got  their  guns  and  fired  at  us.   Many  of  our 
shots  went  wild.    We  could  see  some  of  them  hit  the 
water,  but  not  all.    Then  with  full  head  off  stream 
she  passed  on.    More  smoke  was  seen;  we  loaded  and 
waited,  but  not  for  long.   "Whing,  bang.1"  came  a  big 
shell  from  a  gunboat,  and.  they  kept  coming.    We  pulled 
our  little  guns  down  from  the  embankment •  and  hitched 
our  horses.  Boys,  horses  and  guns  scampered  away.   We 
scurried  the  two  miles  across  the  bend  where  we  made 
ready,  knowing  we  had  beaten  the  transport.   When  she 
came  in  shore  we  were  both  prepared.    Our  shots  were 
better  directed,  and  so  were  theirs.    Three  of  the 
boys  were  wounded.    The  shells  of  the  gunboat  followed 
us,  so  we  gallantly  retreated.    How  proud  those  boys 

81 


were  of  their  wounds,  and  when  we  reached  home,  what 
heroes  the  girls  made  of  them,  to  the  envy  of  the 
rest  of  us, 
I  TAKE  DISPATCHES  TO  GENERAL  KIRBY  SMITH. 

General  Green  had  not  been  well. for  some  time, 
and  instead  of  improving  under  our  restful  conditions, 
gradually  grew  worse,  and  had  to  spend  most  of  the 
time  in  bed.    He  and  our  host  had  long  talks.    One 
day  when'  Mary  and  I  were  talking  in  our  favorite  re- 
treat, .Sill,  the  General's  servant,  came  and  said, 
"The  General  ..'  wishes  to  see  you".    I  hastened  to 
his  side.   "Captain  Johnnie",  he  said,  "My  orders  are 
to  deliver  dispatches  to  General  Kirby  Smith,  west 
of  the  Mississippi  River.   My  old  wound  has  again  bro- 
ken out,  and  I  am  unable  at  present  to  attempt  their 
delivery.    Do  you  think,  Captain  Johnnie,  I  could 
trust  you  for  their  safe  delivery?"    I  saluted  and 
said  "Yes  Sir," 

It  ca.used  much  sorrow  in  that  household.    The 
mother  begged  that  I  be  not  sent;  told  of  the  dangers; 
how  the  river  was  patrolled  by,  not  only  men,  but  gun- 
boats as  well.    Still  I  was  anxious  to  go.   Skiffs, 
and  in  fact  every  kind  of  boat  on  either  side  of  the 
river,  had  been  destroyed.    I£y  host  sent  away  one  of 

82 


his  black  men,  and  next  day  he  brought  back  an  old 
white  ma.n.    He  and  the  General  had  a  long  talk,  and 
decided  I  was  to  leave  with  him  the  following  morn- 
ing.   General  Green  had  given  me  explicit  instruc- 
tions to  deliver  the  package  to  some  one  of  the  rank 
of  Captain  or  over,  in  the  regular  army,  and  he  would 
find  orders  for  the  delivery  to  General  Kirby  Smith. 
My  instructions  were  to  return  as  soon  as  possible, 
and  if  I  got  across  safely  I  was  to  give  the  man  a 
note  to  that  effect.    Our  host  was  to  give  him  a  fine 
horse  on  the  delivery  of  the  note. 

Little  Mary  and  I  spent  most  of  that  afternoon  to- 
gether. 
CROSSING  THE  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 

At  sun  up  next  morning,  I  rode  away.    The  good- 
byes, blessings  and  tears,  I  shall  never  forget.   My 
boy  Joe  oried  and  begged  to  go.    Little  Mary  took  one 
of  my  brass  buttons  for  a  keepsake.    We  rode  all  day, 
and  into  the  night  through  the  river  bottoms  before  we 
came  to  his  flat -bottomed  boat,  hidden  in  the  willows 
half  a  mile  from  the  river.   We  spent  most  of  the  night 
and' the  next  day  forcing  cotton  into  the  cracks  and  seams 
of  the  old  boat.    It  seemed  an  endless  job,  as  it  had 
not  seen  water  for  many  months.    We  both  thought  we 
had  stopped  every  crack  and  made  her  seaworthy,  and  the 

03 


next  night  we  started  on  our  journey.   By  tying  the 
rope  to  my  horse's  tail,  we  dragged  it  to  the  river. 
Fortunately  for  us  we  left  an  old  tin  bucket:-  in  the 
boat,  for  it  proved  to  be  our  salvation. 

The  night  was  very  dark,  and  the  river  two  and 
a  half  miles  wide.    We  shoved  the  boat  into  the  wa- 
ter.  I  had  taken  the  saddle  and  traps  off  my  horse 
as  I  had  to  take  him  with  me,  not  knowing  How  many 
miles  I  would  have  to  travel  to  find  a  captain  to 
whom  I  could  give  my  dispatches.    The  man  got  in  and 
took  the  oars  while  I  sat  in  the  stern,  and,  after 
much  persuasion,  my  horse  took  the  water.    He  swam ~ 
even  and  true.   I  held  him  to  the  side  of  the  boat  by 
his  bit. 

When  we  had  gone  out  of  our  little  lagoon,  and 
reached  the  body  of  the  river,  we  saw  the  lights  of 
three  gunboats.    The  man  wanted  to  go  back,  but  I,  ' 
like  a  boy,  would  not  listen  to  it,  so  we  changed  our 
course,  and  went  between  the  two  that  were  fartherest 
apart.   My  horse  swam  noiselessly,  and  when  we  had  gone 
a  third  of  tho  way  he  turned  on  his  side  and  floated. 
I  felt  my  feet  were  wet,  and  to  our  horror  found  the 
boat  was  leaking  badly.     _th  one  hand  I  grabbed  the 
tin  bucket  and  baled  as  never  a  boy  baled  before.   I 

84 


still  held  my  horse.   The  man  bent  his  back  to  the 
muffled  oars,  and  for  hours  and  hours,  it  seemed  to 
me,  we  spoke  never  a  word.    The  water  was  gaining 
rapidly  on  me.    The  man  whispered,  "You  d  —  fool, 
let  the  horse  go",  but  I  held  on  and  tried  to. work  the 
harder.    The  water  had  reached  nearly  to  our  knees, 
and  our  speed  was  slower  and  slower.    We  could  just 
distinguish  in  the  dim  light,  the  outline  of  the  other 
bank  by  the  heavy  fringe  of  the  willow  trees,  that,  lined 
it. 

Hope  had  almost  gone.    I  could  not  swim.    The 
man  sat  facing  me,  and  suddenly  whispered.   "Look  at 
your  horse,  what  is  he  doing?"    I  did  not  turn,  but- 
putting  my  hand  back  could  feel  his  shoulders.   I  told 
the  man  so,  and  he  said  with  an  oath,  "Ke 's  .walking" 4 
did  not  at  first  realize  what  it  meant.  •'   The  man  slid 
out  of  the  boat  into  the  water,  and  it  was  barely  up 
to  his  shoulders.   He  said,  "Kid,  we  are  all  right  now. 
I '11. walk  and  lighten  the  load.   You  stay  in  or  you'd 
drown".     He  walked  and  pulled;  it  was  slow  progress. 
When  the  water  reached  half  way  up  my  horse's  side  I 
crawled  on  his  back  and  told  the  man  to  tie  the  rope 
to  his  tail.    The  man  walked  and  held  the  boat  while 
my  good  horse  pulled  it  ashore.    My  dispatches  were 
sealed  in  an  oil-skin  case  and  they  were  the  only  dry 


things  we  had.    We  turned  the  boat  ovc-r  and  hid  it 
in  the  willows.    The  man  said  when  it  was  light  he 
would  force  more  cotton  into  the  cracks,  and  next  night 
go  back.    On  a  piece  of  wet  paper  I  wrote,  "Landed 
safe",  and  signed  my  name.    In  the  darKness  I  saddled 
my  horse,  and  was  more  than  two  hours  finding  a  place 
on  the  levee  where  he  could  climb.    At  last  I  was 
over.    About  ten  o'clock  that  day  I  reached  a  cabin 
occupied  by  an  old  negro  woman  and  her  children.   She 
gave  me  a  meal  of  dried  pumpkin  and  rye  coffee.    Nature 
furnished  grass  for  my  horse. 
DELIVERY  OF  DISPATCHES. 

Without  incident  of  any  special  note,  I  rode  over 
the  country  until  the  third  night,  when  I  saw  a  camp 
fire.   Crawling  up  I  found  they  were  our  men  under 
command  of  Captain  Todd.   They  gave  me  a  warm  welcome, 
for  they  were  very  anxious  to  hear  news  of  the  armies 
east  of  the  river.    I  delivered  my  dispatches,  for 
which  they  gave  me  a  receipt.   Captain  Todd  immediately 
forwarded  them  by  an  officer  and  three  men.   He  sent 
a  sergeant  and  several  men  with  me  for  more  than  a 
hundred  miles  up  the  river  where  there  was  a  boat  used 
for  crossing.    We  found  a  regular  picket  at  that  point 
whose  duty  it  was  to  cross  at  Captain  Todd's  orders,  men 
or  dispatches.    I  was  told  to  be  ready  at  dark,  and  we 

86 


crossed  without  accident  or  delay. 

Older  people  cannot  feel  the  same  pride  or  joy 
at  the  consummation  of  an  act,  or  the  fulfillment  of 
an  order  as  can  a  youth.    My  very  heart  sang  with  joy, 
although  I  knew  I  was  in  the  enemy's  country,  my  haver- 
sack was  full,  and  the  boatman  had  told  me  what  direc- 
tion to  take,  and  for  four  days  to  ride  only  lay  night. 
I  will  not  tire  you  with  the  details  of  rny  lonely  ride. 
Twenty-four  days  after  making  my  last  crossing  over  the 
river  I  came  to  what  had  once  been  a  .peaceful  home.   It 
was  occupied  only  by  women  —  the  men  had  all  been  lost 
in  battle.    I  asked  for  my  host,  the  Major  of  the 
Mexican  War.'   They  said  his  place  was  thirty  miles 
distant.    I  was  the  only  white  person  they  had  seen  for 
weeks. 
CASTLE  SUILP11G. 

At  daylight  I  galloped  away.    What  would  life 
be  without  its  castle  building?   Ko  castles  were  ever 
so  pretty  and  charming  as  those  I  built  that  day.    I 
took  the  receipt  out  and  read  it  ov,er,  "Signed,  Todd, 
Captain  C.S.A."    What  would  my  General  say  when  I 
saluted  and  presented  it?   I  was  sure  the  old  Major 
would  say,  "Well  done,  my  boy,  well  done11.    I  knew 
sweet,  dear,  beautiful  Mother  would  kiss  me  on  the  fore- 
head; maybe  she  would  even  put  her  arms  around  me.  Little 


Mary 1  looked  down  at  my  clothes.   Oh  how  ragged, 

muddy,  torn  and  dirty  they  were.1   My  pretty  gold 
braid  was  nearly  all  gone.    The  briers  and  limbs 
had  torn  it  off.   One  boot  was  entirely  gone  and  my 
foot  was  tied  in  rags;  the  other  boot  was  not  much 
better.   .  Worst  of  all,  my  right  pant's  leg  had  a 
torn  gap  from  the  waist  almost  to  the  knee.   I  could 
not  mend  it.   I  wrapped  it  round  and  round  with  willow 
bark,  but  even  this  did  not  wholly  cover  the  rent. 
I  had  lost  my  pretty  hat  with  its  gold  cord.    The 
tin  soldier  boy  was  gone.   Would  little  Mary  go  with 
me  to  the  bower?    I  knew  it  would  make  no  difference 
to  my  General  how  I  looked.    When  I  delivered  my  re- 
ceipt he  would  say,  "Well  done,  my  Boy,  I  am  proud  of 
you".    The  look  in  his  eyes  would  be  enough  to  repay 
me  for  all  the  hardships  I  had  undergone,  and  the 
humiliation  of  appearing  before  the  Major,  Mother  and 
little  Mary  in  such  a  plight.    Never  was  a  boy  so 
wrought  up  between  joy  and  despair. 
SUB!)EI  AWAKENING. 

"Halt.1"  came  a  clarion,  fearful  voice.    Instantly 
the  big  curb  bit  threw  my  horse  from  a  gallop  on  to  his 
haunches.   My  revolver,  ever  ready,  I  held  cocked  in 
my  hand.    The  picket  knew  I  was  alone.   He  had  heard 
me  coming  a  long  way  off.    In 'my  castle  building  I 

88 


had  forgotten  Dick's'  command  "caution".    "Advance 
and.  give  countersign",  the  picket  cricct.    "I'll  meet 
you  half  way".  I  said.    As  he  mounted  his  horse  I 
saw  he  was  a  confodorat  .  advanced  within 

speaking  distance  he  said,  "\7ho  are  you?"    I  was  not 
afraid  and  cried,  "Captain  Johnnie  Y7i  eke  r  sham  ",  special 
aide  to  General  Colt  on  Green".    He  shouted,  "Hello 
Johnnie,  I've  heard  of  you",  and  we  rode  into  camp 
where  I  was  conducted  to  the  Colonel  commanding.   He 
said,  "I  heard  of  your  mission,  were  you  successful?" 
I  handed  him  my  receipt .    He  was  much  pleased  and  called 
in  a  dozen  officers,  introducing  me  to  them.   I  remem-i 
her  they  all  took  off  their  hats  as  they  held  my  hand. 
While  I  was  relating  to  the  officers  the  news  of  the 
West  side  of  the  river,  the  Colonel  was  busy  writing. 
He  had  previously  ordered  a  Captain  and  four  men  to 
carry  some  dispatches.    The   captain  saluted,  and 
the  Colonel  commanded  as  follows;  "Ride  without  saving 
your  horses  and  deliver  this  paper  to  General  Joseph  E. 
Johnson",  then  turning,  he  said,  "The  little  Captain 
got  across  all  right",  at  this  I  jumped  up  and  said, 
"No,  no,  you  can't  take  my  paper.    I  promised  to  give 
it  to  General  Green." 
MY  CASTLE  DESTROYED. 

The  Colonel  said,  General  Green  left  for  the  army 


more  than  two  weeks  ago.   Grant  came  near  catching  him 
at  the  Major's  place".   "You  don't  mean  the  Federals 
have  taken  'Fairyland111.    "Yes",  he  answered,  "and 
destroyed  and  burned  everything  that  would  burn.    There 
is  not  a  fence  rail  left  on  the  place".    "Oh,  what  be- 
came of  the  Major.  Mother  and  little  Mary?"  I  asked. 
"The  last  trip  of  the  ferry  boat  before  we  destroyed  it, 
brought  over  a  wagon  containing  Mother,  Mary,  and  the 
dead  body  of  the  Major",  he  replied.    "Where  did  they 
go?"  I  cried.   "God  only  knows,  my  boy". 

That  night  the  kindly  old  Colonel  found  me  lying 
face  downward  in  the  woods,  crying  my  heart  out  for  my 
beautiful  lost  Fairyland,  for  my  gallant  Major  who  died 
trying  to  defend  his  home  and  family;  for  the  lovely 
snowy-haired  Mother,  and  little  Mary,  whom  I  never  saw  or 
heard  of  again.   Of  the  events  immediately  following,  I 
have  not  a  faint  recollection. 
STRAY  DOG. 

I  only  know  I  was  a  poor,  ragged,  dejected  boy, 
lost  in  that  army  of  strangers.    I  felt  like  a  stray 
dog.    All  were  kind  to  me,  but  my  childish  dreams  and 
hopes  were  blasted.    I  wanted  to  reach  General  Colt on 
Green.    I  inquired  for  my  other  dear  friend,  Colonel 
Emmett  McDonald,  and  learned  that  he  had  died  while 
leading  a  gallant  charge.    The  longing  for  General 

90 


Green  still  remains  unsatisfied,  for  I  never  saw  him 
again.    I  had  no  position,  no  command.   I  simply 
followed  the  soldiers,  taking  but  little  interest  in 
what  happened.    I  was  in  the  fight  at  Big  Black  River 
and  escaped  over  the  burning  bridge.    We  were  finally- 
driven  back  into  Vicksburg,  Mississippi,  and  there  I 
found  my  old  brigade,  and  once  more  I  felt  at  home. 


The  recent  events  and  experiences  had,  temporarily, 
at  least,  driven  all  the  poetry  and  enthusiasm  from  rny 
nature.   To  a  boy,  the  change  was  great.   Heretofore  I 
had  been  honored  and  petted;  had  worn  good  clothes,  or 
gaudy  uniform,  while  now  I  was  ragged,  dirty,  and  shoe- 
less, with  but  little  hope  of  bettering  my  condition.   My 
old  comrades  were  glad  to  see  me,  and  gave  me  a  warm 
welcome,  but  I  realized  perfectly  that  I  did  not  have 
my  former  standing.   When  not  on  duty  in  ditches,  we 
lived  in  caves  in  the  ground,  and  as  we  sat  around  the 
little  fire  we  had  during  the  weeks  we  were  there  lis- 
tening to  the  tales  of  bravery,  suffering  and  sacrifice 
of  comrades  and  regiments,  I  felt,  not  only  how  small 
in  station,  but  how  small  in  actual  deeds  rny  life  had 
been. 
VICKSBURG. 

We  were  completely  surrounded  and  hemmed  in  with 

91 


no  possible  chance  of  being  released  or  of  cutting  our 
way  out.    Day  by  day  our  rations  grew  less,  and  every 
other  night  we  crawled  to  the  works,  and  the  second 
night  following,  those  surviving  crawled  back, 
were  sick  and  starving.    The  picture  of  the  men  with 
gaunt  figures,  sober  faces,  reflected  in  the  ghostly 
light  of  that  cave  fire,  will  never  leave  me.   They 
were  men  whose  wives  and  children  were,  God  only  kn> 
where.    All  of  their  earthly  possessions  had  been 
taken  from  them;  yet  starving  even  unto  death,  they 
fought  on  and  on  without  a  complaint.    If  there  was  a 
Judas  among  us,  we  were  ignorant  of  his  presence, 
enemy  was  mining  our  big  fort  and  every  day  and  night 
we  expected  the  explosion.    It  affected  the  nerves 
of  the  entire  army.    I  remember  any  sudden,  loud  bom- 
bardment made  the  men  jump  and  grasp  their  guns,  for 
we  had  general  orders  if  the  fort  was  blown  up,  to 
rush  to  its  defense.    It  became  almost  the  custom  for 
the  regiments  ordered  to  relieve  the  one  in  the  fort  to 
leave  letters  to  loved  ones  and  say  goodbye  to  friends. 
THE  SURRENDER. 

That  fated  night  orders  came  to  us.    We  had  so 
many  on  sick  leave  and  wounded  that  it  wa»s  pitiful  to 
see  those  men  "fall  in".   "No  boys,  if  you  die,  I'll 
be  with  you",  read  the  history  of  that  fated  Fourth 

92 


of  July,  1063.    The  mine  destroyed  our  works,  but 
they  failed  in  their  desperate  attempt  to  take  them. 
By  starvation  they  compelled  our  surrender.   We  had 
stacked  our  guns  and  were  standing  or  lying  on  the 
ground,  inside  our  works,  surely  the  most  wretched,  lot 
of  men  the  world  has  ever  seen.   A   Federal  command 
in  their  fine  blue  uniforms  and  brass  buttons,  was 
marching  past,  or'  at  least  the  Colonel  tried  to  make 
them,  but  the  men'  broke'  ranks.    I  remember  a  big  pri- 
vate sat  down  beside  me  saying,  "My  God,  Johnnie,  I 
did  not  think  it  was  as  bad  as  this,"  as  he  watched 
me  eat  from  his  bountiful  haversack. 
PAROLED. 

We  were  paroled  and  sent  to  Demopolis,  Alabama. 
I  was  allowed  to  keep  my  little  pearl  handled  sword 
but  some  one  stole  it.    The  pistol  you  have,  I  was 
permitted  to  retain.    At  Demopolis  we  reorganised, 
and,  after  some  time,  received  clothing  made  of  grey 
confederate  cloth.    I  was  most  unfortunate  with  my 
new  suit.   It  consisted  of  jacket  and  trousers  of 
woolen  material.    In  order  to  cleanse  my  suit,  I, 
one  night,  placed  them  in  a  kettle  of  boiling  water. 
Imagine  my  surprise  and 'horror  when  I  took  them  from 
the  kettle.    They  had  shrunk,  shrivelled,  contracted, 
and  closed  up  so  that  I  could  scarcely  get  an  arm  in 

93 


the  pants  leg.   My  next  suit  of  clothes  was  many 
sizes  too  large  for  me,  and  I  regretted  my  foolish 
act. 

The  army  was  still  under  parole  and  we  had  a  fine 
time.    They  gave  us  plenty  to  eat,  with  no  work  to  do, 

* 

and  we  soon  recuperated  and  became  ourselves  once  more. 
Our  camp  was  situated  in  .a  beautiful  grove  of  tall 
pines.    Ector's  brigade  of  Texans  occupied  one  ridge, 
and  we  the  other  with  a  deep  ravine  between  us.   Each 
gathered  pine  cones  during  the  day  and  made  them  into 
high  piles.   At  night  we  would  set  them  afire  and  have 
a  battle  royal  with  each  other  with  the  burning  cones. 

'  OH  FOR  DALTQN,  GEORGIA. 

Finally  we  were  exchanged  and  were  armed  with 
New  Enfield  rifles.     Then  came  drilling.    We  had  new 

•wagons  and  artillery,  and  soon  started,  under  General 
Joe  Johnson,  for  Dalton,  Georgia,  where  we  met  Sherman's 
advance,  and  had  the  same  old  thing  —  a  fight.   John- 
son's army  was  so  inferior  to  Sherman's  in  numbers  that 
we  had  to  fight  and  retreat,  fight  and  retreat,  all  the 
way  back  to  Atlanta.    For  six  weeks  through  a  con- 
tinual rain  we  fought  every  day  and  fell  back  at  night 
and  built  new -works,  only  to  find  Sherman's  army  in  our 
front  the  next  morning.    Our  engagements  were  sometimes 
most  bitter,  especially  at  Ressaca,  Kcnnesaw  Mountain, 

94 


Marietta  and  Ackworth. 

At  Kennesaw  we  held  the  gap  between  Big  and  Little 
Kennesaw.    General  Sherman  says  in  his  memoirs  "Na- 
poleon's idea  that  any  given  point  defended  by  a  weak- 
er force  can  always  be  taken  by  the  overwhelming  force", 
is  incorrect.    He  says  he  tried  it  at  Kennesaw  Gap. 
It  depends  entirely  on  the  bravery  of  the  smaller  force. 
For  forty  hours,  more  than  two  hundred  Federal  guns  poured 
their  shot  and  shell  into  and  through  this  gap  until 
there  was  not  a  limb  or  sprig  left.   Then  as  the  smoke 
cleared  away  through  that  long  wide  valley  that  opened 
in  its  front,  two  army  corps  could  be  plainly  seen  in 
martial  array,  ;vith  bands  and  banners  flying.    Our  force, 
defending  the  gap,  numbered  three  thousand  two  hundred 
men.    Our  works  were  nature's  rocks  and  boulders  that 
had  rolled  down  from  the  mountain  sides.    We  lay  flat 
behind  these.   Th     .'ere  no  commands,  only  "shoot". 
BLEDSOE  '  S  EAT.TEPY 

On  top  of  Kennesaw,  on  our  "  right,  was  the  famous 
Bledsoe  battery.    Luring  the  cannonade  mentioned,  I 
was  sent  to  Colonel  Bledsoe  with  dispatches.    That 
morning  as  the  men  were  sitting  at  breakfast  around 
their  camp  fire,  a  federal  shell  had  burst  in,  the 
fire  killing  and  wounding  nineteen  of  his  men.   Blodsoe 

95 


had  sweet  re\      by  pouring  grape  and  cannistor  shot 
into  their  solid  ranks.    On  they  came,  only  to  re- 
treat and  come  again.     They  were  more  than  a  rnile 
deep  and  our  shots  wore  most  fatal.    [Finally  they 
gave  it  up  and  retreated.    There  was  not  rn  officer  or 
man  in  our  command  whose  fac      not  as  black  as  a 
negroes  from  biting  cartri        That  night     .ont 
•  over  the  field  of  dead  seeking  arms.    Brother  Jim  and 
a  big  Irishman  of  his  company  found. a  dead  Lieutenant 
Colonel  within  twenty  feet  of  our  line.    Jim  was  nearly 
barefooted  and  the  Colonel  had  on  fine  boots.    The 
Irishman  insisted  that  they  would  just  fit  him,  so  pull- 
ing him  astride  of  a  sapling,  they  tried  to  pull ' of f 
the  boots."   When  the  dead  man's  body  made,  what . seemed 
to  the  Irishman,  an  unearthly  sound,  he  dropped  the  boot 
and  ran.   When  Jim  came  back  with  the  boots  he  found 
the  Irishman  at  prayer. 
THE-  COOK  HOUSE. 

Back  of  Kennesaw,  the  ground  rose  to  quit*: 
ridge,  sloping  away  on  the  other  side  four -miles  to 
Marietta,  which  was  the  cook  house  of      /my.   During 
the  entire  six  weeks  we  were  never  to  IT 

a  camp  fire,  although  our  clothing  th'the 

the  daily  rains.    Our  cattle  were  dr       jad  of 
us  and  lived  only  on  what  little  food  nature  provided. 

96 


We  killed  only  those  that  were  unable  to  travel.   At 
the  cook  camp  their  carcasses  were  boiled  and  loaded 
in  wagons  and  hauled  to  the  different  commands  on  the 
front,  where  they  were  dumped  in  piles.    The  com- 
missary sergeant  cut  it  in  two  pieces  for  the  men. 
With  it  sometimes  was  a  corn  hoe  cake.    To  illustrate 
how  gristly  and  unpalatable  it  was,  the  soldiers  often 
threw  pieces  that  they  could  not  eat  against  the  trees, 
where  it  stuck.    About  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
I  would  often  run  through  the  dropping  shells  to  the 
top  of  the  ridge  back  of  us  to  watch  the  cook  wagons 
start  for  the  front  through  the  hail  of  shells.   There 
were  more  than  a  hundred  two-horse  wagons.   The  drivers 
stood  up,  big  long  whip  in  hand,  waiting  for  the  signal 
pistol  shot.    The  hillside. was  open  with  no  road,  and 
such  a  race  as  they  had.   All  of  them  did  not  get  through. 
."RATTLE  FLAG. 

It  was  much  more  rare  to  see  a  Confederate  flag 
in  the  armies  of  the  South  than  it  was  to  see  "Old 
Glory"  in  the  armies  of  the  North,    The  flag  we  loved 
the  most  was  our  Battle  Flag,  and  under  our  army 
regulations  if  a  regiment  received  special  mention  in 
general  orders  for  deeds  of  heroism,  it  was  entitled  to 
sew  the  name  of  such  engagement  on  its  battle  flag., 
For  the  part  we  rlayed  in  the  taking  of  the  enemy's 

97 


works   at  Franklin  we  were  permitted,  to  attach  the 
name  "Franklin"  to  our  flag.    This  flag  had  but 
little  left  to  show  what  its  original  color  or  decora- 
tions had  been  —  so  torn  and  rent  was  it  by  shot  and 
shell,  and  so  covered  "by  the  now  faded  names  of  battles 
through  which  it  had  been  carried  with  honor.    In 
appearance  it  more  nearly  resembled  an  old  faded  patch- 
work quilt  than  a  battle  flag,  yet  we  loved  it. 

"The  Commanding  General  wishes  to  especially 
mention  the  heroic  and  gallant  charge  of  the  Regiment  in 
taking  the  enemy's  works  at  Franklin".    The  above  was 
read  to  all  that  now  remained  of  the  command.      fools 
shouted  ourselves  hoarse.    Then  came  the  jealous  rush 
among  the  men  to  furnish  the  letters  for  the  new  name 
to  be  added  to  our  battle  flag.    "Captain,  you  pro- 
mised I  could  furnish  a  letter  next  time",  said  one,  and 
so  on.    They  all  considered  it  a  great  honor  to  fur- 
nish from  the  right  trouser  leg  (as  was  our  custom)  the 
necessary  fragment  of  cloth  measuring  about  six  inches. 
Only  those  not  having  previously  furnished  a  letter 
were  permitted  to  contest  for  this  honor  by  drawing 
lots,  and  the  lucky  ones,  with  pride,  fashioned  the 
rude  letters  from  butternut,  blue  or  gray.   Then  one 
man  was  selected  to  fasten  the  letters  to  the  faded 
banner,  handling  that  old  battered  rag  so  reverently, 

98 


as  they  gathered  its  torn. edges  together,  "Franklin" 
being  the  last  and  only  legible  name  there. 
ATLANTA . 

Finally  we  reached  Atlanta  where  each  army  vied 
with  the  other  in  building  the  most  modern  and  Im- 
pregnable breastworks.    The  engineers  in  charge  were 
from  the      school,  ''   it  Point",  and  rivalry  made 
them  use  every  knc       is  of  defense.     'en.  the  war 
was  over  and  1     orks  of  each  army  examined,  it  was  a 
common  expression  among  the  officers-  that  they  both 
look  as  though  tj  ;      -  built  under  the  direction  of 
the  same  officer,  or  at  least  of  the  same  school.   Ours, 

thought,  never  could  be  taken.   Lines  of  "Cheval  de 
frise",  after  the  French  designs,  lined  our  extreme 
front.  -~f  stakes  driven  firmly  into 

the  ground,  six  to  eight  inches  apart,  at  an ; angle  of 
forty-five  degre      ith  sharpened  ends  pointing  to- 

They  were  tied  and  woven  together 

with  wire  (barbed        s  not  known  at  that  time  ).   If 
the  enemy  succeeded  in  cutting  its  way  through  this 
obstruction,  t  ith  deep  pits 

with  sharp  iron  spikes  covering  the  -bottom  pits.    The 
ones  with  no  spikes  were  used  by  our  pickets.    Our 
breastworks      marvelous  of  strength,  built  in  z 
lines,  so  that  in  the  event  of  an  attack  on  the  front  of 

99 


any  command  the  enemies1  columns  cvould  be  enfiladed 
oy  all  our  guns  which  could  reach  them.   In  front  of 
the  breastworks  and  a  deep  yawning  ditch  having  on 
its  crest  heavy  head  logs  so  raised  as  to  permit  the 
men  to  fire  between  them  and  the  earthworks.    The  side 
toward  the  enemy  looked  as  though  struck  by  lightning. 
They  were  splintered  and  shattered  by  the  enemy's 
bullets  until  their  sides  seemed  made  of  lead.    In  for- 
tification every  possible  contingency  is  provided  for. 
If  the  outer  works  were  ever  taken  —  in  some  places 
at  least,  we  had  as  many  as  three  lines  in  our  rear, 
with  underground  passages,  and  so  situated  that  our 
fire  would  control  the  works  taken. 
LIFE  IN  THE  TRENCHES . 

How  long  the  days  seemed.'  —  we  waited,  hoped, 
and  prayed  that  they  might  try  and  take  our  works  by 
assault.    The  only  reading  matter  we  had  was  news- 
papers taken  from  the  dead  Federals.   Their  pa;     ore 
divided  and  read  by  many  at  the  same  time.    How  wild 
with  anger  some  of  our  boys  would  get  over  many  state- 
ments contained  in  the  Yank's  Capers.      lived  only 
in  the  trenches.   There  was  no  drill,  no  duty  ti 
broke  the  monotony  of  our  life,  except  a  picket  would 
slowly  crawl  at  night  through  holes  in  our  Cheval  do 
frise  t;o  his  pit,  where  by  sitting  down  lie  could  kec 

100 


his  head  below  the  surface.    The  bottom  of  our 
trench  was  always  covered  with  card  players.   I  well 
remember  a  soldier  shouted  "Joe  Howard  is  shot  J  " 
Every  man  dropped  his  cards,  on  the  dirty  blankets. 
"Where  is  he  hit?"  asked  one.   "Just  between  the  eyes" 
came  the  answer.   "Got  shot",  one  said  as  they  all 
picked  up  their  cards  and-  continued  playing.    Had 
he  been  wounded,  all  would  willingly  have  done  all  in 
their  power  to  relieve  his  suffering  —  but  dead,  that 
was  the  end.    Our  cards  came  largely  from  the  Federals. 
"I  got  a  pocket  knife  and  these  things",  said  one  of 
the  boys,  "But  the  Yank  got  scared  when  he  knew  there 
was  going  to  be  a  fight,  and  threw  away  his  cards". 
They  prised  a  deck  of  cards  above  everything.    To  place 
a  hat  on  a  ram  rod  and  let  it  project  over  our  works 
and  see  it  riddled  with  bullets  was  great  sport,  and 
broke  the  wearisome  monotony. 

One  great  pleasure  was  our  band  concert  each  day 
just  before  sundown,-  it  was  the  joy  of  both  armies. 
Our  band  would  play  "Dixie"  and  at  its  close  the  Yanks 
joined  with  us  in  the  applause.    Then  the  sweet  notes. 
of  the  "Star  Spangled  Banner"  would  be  wafted  over  our 
quiet  camp.   So  piece  after  piece,  in  its  turn  cheered 
the  soldiers  of  both  armies.    During  our  concerts  not 
a  shot  was  fired.    As  the  concerts  grew  more  common, 

101 


yc.-;;  could  see  the  men  of  both     ies  more  exposed 
over  the  head  logs.   I  remember  the  big  fort  on  our 
left  had  two  guns  that  threw  sixty-four  pound  shells. 
They  only  fired  occasionally,  as  we  were  short  of 
ammunition  which  had  to  be  conserved  for  emergencies. 
At  the  report  of  these  guns,  every  man  was  on  the 
lookout.   With  our  eyes  we  could  follow  that  great 
shell.   We  could  see  the  wagons  and   cavalry  of  the 
enemy  scatter.   How  we  yelled  as  they  ran  to  cover.1 

We  knew  we  could  not  always  protect  our  rear. 
General  Sherman  would  not  attempt  to  take  Atlanta  by 
assault,  but  with  his  larger  army  was  continuing  his 
former  tactics  of  out-flanking  and  cutting  out  communica- ' 
tions . 
QUfi  ASSAULT  ON  JUNE  THE  TWENTY- SECOND. 

President  Davis  insisted  that  General  Joseph  3. 
Johnson  give  battle  to  the  overwhelming  forces .of  General 
Sherman.    When  he.  refused,  to  our  sorrow,  General  Hood 
was  placed  in  command.   Almost  the  first  order  given 
by  General  Kood  on  his  assuming  command  of  the  army,  was 
regarding  preparations  for  an  offensive  campaign.    The 
preparations  were  quietly  made.   Lien  were  selected  and 
provided  with  wire-cutters  and  sharp  axes  to  cut  the 
enemies1  Cheval  de  freise.    On  that  fated  22d  of  June, 
like  a  hurricane,  we  tore  up  every  obstruction  in  our 

102 


front,  passed  their  ditch,  took  their  forts  and 
breastworks j  hurled  General  McPher son's  army  corps 
back  with  such  rapidity  and  force  that  they  be- 
came much  demoralized.    Major  General  McPherson 
was  killed  while  trying  to  rally  his  men.   We  cap- 
tured artillery,  much  camp  equipage  and  many  prisoners, 
but  with  our  small  force  were  unable  to  hold  their 
works.   We  slowly  retreated  to  our  side.   We  lost 
many  men,  but  how  we  did  brag  that  we  would  like  to 
see  them  take  our  works, 
EXCHANGE  OF  PRISONERS. 

Next  day  the  signal  for  a  parley  was  shown  from 
the  Federal  line.    It  was  an  hour  later,  answered  by 
Colonel  Phil  Howard  of  General  Hood's  staff,  meeting 
Colonel  Davidson,  representing  General  Sherman.    They 
met  midway  between  our  lines,  each  carrying  a  flag  of 
truce. 

Colonel  Davidson,  on  behalf  of  General  Sherman, 
proposed  the  exchange  of  prisoners.   Colonel  Howard 
said  he  would  be  most  pleased  to  lay  the  offer  (which 
was  in  writing)  before  General  Hood,  and  at  noon  the 
following  day  would  return  with  the  reply. 

When  the  official  functions  had  been  complied 
with  Colonel  Davidson  cried,  "Phil,  God  bless  you,  give 
me  your  hand.   This  is  the  most  pleasant  surprise  of 

103 


my  life".    They  had  been  old  Yale  college  chums. 
The  happy  memories  of  that  long  ago  brought  joy  and 
happiness  at  this  unexpected  meeting.    With  hands 
still  clasped,  they  talked  of  their  youthful  school 
day£.   "Phil",  finally  said  Colonel  Davidson,  "General 
Sherman  requested  me 'to  inquire,  if  opportunity  per- 
mitted, if  you  had  among  your  prisoners  a  Lieutenant 
Hadley  of  his  personal  staff  who  was  reported- miss- 
ing".  Colonel  'Howard  replied,  "Can't  sajr  positively, 
but  remember  in  looking  over  the  list  of  prisoners  there 
was  only  one  who  was  reported  as  seriously  wounded,  and 
I  think  his  name  was  Hadley.   I  know  he  was  a  Lieut 
and  staff  officer.   I  will  ascertain  and  let  you  know 
tomorrow".   "Please  do",  came  the  quick  response,  Tor 
General  Sherman  has  other  than  personal  reasons  for 
making  this  inquiry. " 

At  the  same  place  and  hour  the  next  day  they 
met  again.   Colonel  Howard  said,  "General  Hood  not  only 
accepts,  but  appreciates  the  kind  and  humane  proposition 
of  General  Sherman,  and  has  given  orders  for  all  Facie:- 
prisoners  m  our  possession  to  be  immediately  trans- 
ferred under  flag  of  truce  to  your  army.    He  also  handed 
Colonel  Dalton  a  surgeon's  report  stating,  "Captured, 
June  22,  Lieutenant  Richard  Hadley  of  Goner,          's 
staff.   Seriously 'wounded.   Sword      -ts  in  breast^  -run 

104 


shot  wounds  in  left  shoulder  and  arm.   Impossible  in 
present  condition  to  be  moved", 
LITTLE  YANKEE  NANCY. 

"Too  bad,  too  bad",  cried  Colonel  Dalton,   "Phil, 
old  school-mate  and  friend,  the  reason  General  Sherman 
and  I  are  so  interested  in  Lieutenant  Hadley  is  not  only 
because  he  is  a  prince  of  good  fellows,  and  a  gallant 
officer,  but  the  day  before  the  battle,  the  sweetest 
little  girl  ( only  fifteen )  his  sister,  arrived  in  camp 

to  make  him  a  visit,  and  is  now  the  guest  of  General 

\  . 

Sherman. 

When  her  brother  was  reported  missing  the  misery 
in  the  eyes  of  that  innocent  child  brought  tears  to  the 
eyes  of  not  only  General  Sherman,  but  to  an  old  reprobate 
like  myself.   Yesterday  when  I  entered  General  Sherman's 
tent  to  make  my  rep'ort ,  Little  Nancy,  as  we  call  her, 
was  sitting  on  the  arm  of  General  Sherman rs  chair.'  When 

I  told  what  you  said,  that  the  only  seriously  wounded 

t.\ . " 
prisoner  was  an  officer,  and  you  thought "his  name  was 

Hadley,  all  color  left  her  face.    I  saw  her  lips  were 
bleeding,  but  not  a  tear  fell.   Ere-ct  she  walked  to 
the  corner  of  the  tent,  and  on  her  knees  offered  a 
prayer  for  her  brother  Lick;  a  prayer  that  for  faith, 
confidence  and  fervency,  I  do  not  believe  ever  before 
reached  the  throne  of  God.    Returning  to  the  General, 

105 


she  asked,  "Has  General  Hood  a  little  sister ?u    "I 
do  not  know,  Nancy",  he  replied.   To  me  she  said, 
"Oh,  won't  you  please  ask  him  if  I  may  not  go  and 
nurse  my  brother  Dick.   Tell  him  please  that  I  am 
only  a  little  girl,  and  if  he  will  let  me,  I  will  go 
on  my  honor" «    For  a  moment  we  could  say  nothing. 
Then  General  Sherman  spoke  "Tell  Colonel  Phil  Howard 
every  word  that  has  been  spoken  here.  Ask  him  in  my 
name  to  report  it  to  General  Hood.    If  he  can  grant 
little  Nancy's  request,  General  Sherman  will  never  for- 
get it". 

Colonel  Howard  replied  "The  picture  of  that  scene 
in  General  Sherman's  tent,  with  every  word  just  as  you 
have  spoken  are  indelibly  printed  on  my  memory.   Word 
for  word,  it  will  be  told  to  General  Hood.   If  it  affects 
him  as  it  has  me,  and  he  feels  that  it  is  not  impossible, 
he  most  surely  will  grant  it.   If  he  grants  your  request, 
the  battle  flag  on  the  fort  at  our  left  will  dip  three 
time$  at  noon  tomorrow.   At  three   o'clock  an  officer 
with  white  flag  will  meet  her  on  this  spot",  continuing 
he  said,  "I  feel  it  would  be  unnecessary  for  me  to  say, 
if  she  comes  she  will  be  treated  with  the  same  courtesy 
a  Southern  soldier  always  pays  to  womanhood". 
MY  NEW  PUT IES . 

I,  of  course,  at  this  time  knew  nothing  of  the 

106 


above  incident.    At  noon  a  soldier  shouted  "Some- 

to  happen.1   Look  at  thorn  di~  ping  the 
flag  on  the  big  fort.1"    Oar  excitement  grew  more 
intense  when  an  officer  came  clown  our  trench  shout- 
ing, "Captain  Johnnie  V7i  eke  r  sham !l .   "Here",  I  cried. 
The  major  took  me  to  one  side  and  said,  "Captain, 
General  Kood  has  selected  you  as  the  3^oungest  commissioned 
officer  in  th     ,y,-  to  escort  a  little  Yankee  girl 
whom  you,  with  a  flag  of  truce,  will  meet  at  exactly 
three  o'clock  on  the  spot  where  the  exchange  of 
prisoners  took  place.   You  are  to  conduct  her  to  the 
General  Ho-        iere  her  brother  is  seriously 
wounded.   Until  further  orders,  you  are  released  from 
your  prc      duties,  and  will  be  held  responsible  for 
the  care  and  comfort  of  Lieutenant  Hadley  of  General 
Sherman's  staff,  and  his  little  Yankee  sister.   Gen- 
eral Hood  desires  every  courtesy  possible  shown  them". 
Then  looking  mo  over  with  laughter  in  his  eyes,  said, 
"I  would  suggest,  Captain,  you  borrow  or  steal  sor 
better  clothes,"  and  with  a  laugh  took  from  his  pocket 
a  little  package.   Giving  it  to  me,  lie  said,  "I  think 
without  the  use  of  this  you  will  not   make  a  very 
favorable  impression  on  the  little  Yankee".    I  went 
back  to  the  boys  and  sat  down  in  the  dirt  of  that 
trench,  "What's  up?  Tell  us  about  it.1"  they  shouted. 

10? 


I  was  so  amased  and  surprised  i  could  scarcely  gather 
my  wits  together.    Then  word  for  word,  I  repeated  my 
orders.   "Well  I'll  be  gol-darned,  if  you  don't  have 
more  good  things  come  your  waj7",  and  only  a  kid  at  that". 
"Say  boys",  said  another,  "our  little  Captain  is  go- 
ing to  turn  into  a  Don  Juan".   "I'll  bet  all  the  'confed1 
I've  got  they  fall  in  love  with  each  other". 
AKE_0|L_S  GAP  . 


""/hat  did  the  Major  give  you?"  said  one.    It 
was  still  in  my  hands  forgotten.   When  I  unwrapped  it 
a  cake  of  soap  fell  out.    You  never  heard  such  laughter. 
Hot  one  of  us  had  seen  soap  in  many  months.    "Give  me 
a  bite",  said  Bill  Havens,  "been  so  long  since  I  have 
seen  any,  have  forgotten  the  taste".    Big  Joe  Hawkins, 
lying  flat  on  his  back  in  the  dirt  smoking  his  corn- 
cob pipe  and  looking  at  his  much  pri     Captured  gold 
watch  said,  "Captain,  what  time  was  you  to1  meet  the 
Yank?"    "Three  o'clock",  I  replied.    "It  only  lacks 
olve  minutes  of  two  —  you've  got  to  hustle,  and  so 
have  we.   Boys,  we  can't  send  our  little  Captain  out 
to  meet  the  beautiful  Yank  in  them  clothes,  -  we've 
just  got  to  hustle  and  go  through  the  camp  and  borrow, 
or,  as  the  Major  said,  steal,  glad  rags  and  make  a 
dude  of  him".    With  a  camp  kettle  of  water,  I  stood 
while  three  of  the  boys  washed  me.    How  good  it  did 

100 


feel  to  be  thoroughly  clea  -ait  your  fuss  in 
I'm  goi:.  Lsh  these  here  ea.rs  ji-  ther 
used  to  mine  —  tr  ans  cleni  :,  said  Joe 
Davi  s . 

The  boy:     gone  through  the  trenches  telling 
the  story.    It  broke  the  monotony  of  the  camp.   Al- 
most every  officer  and  man  donated  something  for  my 
apparel  or  ornamentation.    The  great  difficulty  was, 
I  was  so  little  and  the  clothes  so  large.   They  brought 
clothing  almost  sufficient  for  a  company,  and  the  works 
seemed  practically  deserted.   ''."omen  never  took  more 
pleasure  in  dressing  a  bride  than  those  men  had  in 
trying  on  their  different  offer!       .nen  they  tied 
borrc         --  adjusted  my  sword  and  hat,  I  saw 
.me  in  place  of  laughter  in  the  faces  of  the. men, that 
they  had  to  send  me  to  meet  a  lady  in  such  ill-fitting 
and  outl       clothes;  they  had  no  others.   One  of 
the         -'oys,  from  a  distance,     /ill  look  fine", 
time  YV-SS  up.   Almost  the  entire  cc     .1  followed  me 
past  t     ,rt  to  the  point  opposite  the  exchange  place, 
V/e  were  surprised  that  firing  ceased  in  our  vicinity. 
One  by  one,  men  exposed  themselves,  but  no  shots  came 
from  our  side.   Then  the  men  from  both  armies,  cs  v/ith 
a  seem.  unde: 

open. 

109 


THE 

inutes  of  three",  a  com        officer 

said,  SIGc".  I  diately 

from  the 

aloft  a  i     similar  to  mine.  nine!  her  a 

a  black  man  carrying  quite  a  la.          .• .    The  officer, 
seeing  the  negro,  and  realizing  tl      .  i   was  too 
large  and  heavy  for  me  to  -carry,  or  that  I  at  least 
would  .       ;aost  undignified  if  burdened  with  it ,  or- 
dered a  soldier  to  discard  his  belt,        :.  take  the 
package  from  the  negro.    I  walked  with  military  bear- 
ing, eyes  "forty-five  spaces  to  the  front11,  but  oh,  how 
my  knees  trembled  at  the  thought  of  meetin,     irl.1   I-jy 
f eet  did  not  keep  pace  with  the  rapic         .  hep  of 
my  heart.     ..-n  a  hundred  spaces  apart  —  I  forgot 
eyes.  "Forty-five  spaces  to  the  front'-1.   A     came 
nearer  and  nearer,  her  beauty  unfolded.     h  head  erect, 
no  fear  in  her  soul,  she  seemed  t).       b,  sweetest  and 
most  lovely  picture  I  had  ever*  looked  upon, 
was  scanning  my  face,  as  1  was  h  •'-•  met, 

she  freely  extended  her  hand  with  full  confidence  and 
trust.    I  held  it  but  a  moment  in  mine,  and  unconsciously 
I  bowed  rny  head  and  kissed  it,  then  from  ten  thousand 
throats,  on  either  side  of  us,  rang  out  a  mighty  shout, 
not  of  Y/ar,  but  of  courtesy  and  gladness.      en  we  reached 

110 


our  works,  without  a  conmancl  or  suggestion,  every  man 
uncovered.   The  Federals,  seeing  the  respect"  and 
courtesy  with  which  little  Nancy  was  received,  gave 
cheer  after  cheer  of  seeming  friendship  that  made 
every  man  in  our  army,  not  only  proud  but  happy.   Ten 
minutes  later  the  big  gun  at  the  fort  fired,  but  it 
bore  not  death,  it  was  only  a  blank  shot  to  let  the 
men  get  under  cover,  in  another  ten  minutes  our  en- 
tire front  was  a  sheet  of  flame. 

Little  ITancy  and  I  were  out  of  range  of  the  fire. 
I  told  her  of  my  orders  —  that  I  was  released  from 
all  my  former  duties,  and  was  held  responsible  for  the 
comfort  of  Lieutenant  Hadley  and  herself,  that  there 
was  not  a  soldier  in  Atlanta  who  would  net  have  been 
proud  to  do  her  bidding,  also  that  we  had  no  com- 
forts nor  luxuries,  but  everything  that  we  had  was 
at  her  command.    I  told  her  my  name  and  said  I  hoped 
in  time  we  might  become  friends. 
PRIE3TOS. 

She  stopped,  looked  into  my  eyes  with  that  pure, 
innocent  look  of  surprise  and  said,  "Why  Captain  Johnnie, 
are  we  not  friends  already?"    I  could  not  answer  her, 
We  were  but  children,  there  being  but  three  years 
difference  between  us.   \Vithout  again  speaking,  we 
reached  the  hospital  door.    It  was  in  a  very  large  old 

111 


stone  church  building  and  had  adjoining  it  many  large 
temporary  frame  structures.   As  Miss  Nancy  walked 
down  that  long  aisle,  with  cots:  on  either  side  filled 
with  wounded  soldiers,  surprise  and  pleasure  showed 
from  every  face. 

An  attendant,  in  answer  to  my  inquiry  for  Lieuten- 
ant Hadley,  directed  me  to  one  of  the  many  small  rooms 
that  lined  one  entire  side  of  the  hospital.   I  said, 
"Miss  Nancy,  I  will  call  later",  and  as  she  passed  in, 
I  closed  the  door.    I  then  .report  ed_  to  the  command- 
ing surgeon,  who  stated  he  had  been  notified  of  the 
little  Yank's  coming,  and  had  been  ordered  to  provide 
every  possible  comfort  for  both  she  and  her  Brother. 
He  said  there  was  only  one  pleasant  room  in  the  old 
Church  building,  and  that  was  the  one  which  had  for- 
merly been  the  minister's  study,  and  was  now  occupied 
by  Colonel  Holt  on,  a  convalescent.    He  asked  me  to 
call  on  the  Colonel  and  tell  him  of  the  coming  of  the 
little  Yankee  girl,  saying,  "you  will  find  him  a  true 
Southern  gentleman,  and  I  hope  he  will  suggest  giving 
the  Yankee  his  room"  . 
HOLT  ON. 


I   called   on  the   Colonel  as  he    suggested,    and  re- 
lated to  him  the   events   of  the   day  including  the 
arrival   of   the   little  Yankee.         "By  gad,    sir,    do  you 

112 


n  to  tell  mo  there  i?  a  little  Yankee  girl  that 
General  Hood  permitted  to  come  into  our  lines  to 
nurse  her  wounded  brother?"  he  asked.    "Yes",  was 
my  reply.   "Joe,  you  black  rascal",  (turning  to  his 
servant  )  "pack  all  my  traps  immediately  and  put  an- 
other back  log  on  the  fire",    "This,  sir,  is  the  only 
place  fit  for  a  lady.    Present  my  compliments,  and 
please  notify  the  surgeon  in  charge  that  this  room  is 
at  the  disposal  of  the  little  Yank  and  her  brother" . 
I  told  the  surgeon  of  the  kindness  of  Colonel  Kolton. 

laughed  and  said,  "I  knew  he  would  .do  it.   He  is 
the  type  of '  man  that  honors  womanhood  above  everything". 

Hospital  servants  cleared  everything  out  of  the 
room  and  in  a  short  time  it  was  comfortably  furnished 
and  supplied  with  everything  clean  and  needful.   A 
neat  couch  was  placed  for  Miss  Nancy.    I* was  asked  to 
notify  her  of  the  change  and  tell  her  that  she  and  her 
Brother  would  soon  be  moved  to  better  and  more  com- 
fortable quarters,  and  so  I  left  to  fulfill  my  mission. 
HER  V/OUTOED  BROTHER. 

"Come",  came  in  answer  to  my  rap  at  the  door  of 
their  quarters.   'Such  a  picture  as  greeted  my  eyes.1 
She  was  on  h'er  knees  beside  her  wounded  brother's  cot. 
Her  hood  or  bonnet  was  removed,  and  her  glossy  brown 
hair,  parted  in  the  middle,  hung  in  two  long,  heavy 

113 


braids  far  below  her  waist.    Upon  seeing  me  she  in- 
stantly arose,  and  with  both  hands  extended,  took  mine, 
saying,  "Captain  Johnnie. -come  and  meet  my  brother 
Dick.    This  is  he,  Brother,  who -was  so  kind  to  me", 
Lieutenant  Hadley  in  a  weak  voice  thanked  me  and  ex- 
pressed the  hope  that'  we  should  be  friends.    I  told 
him  of  the  change  of  quarters.    He  appreciated  the 
kindness  of  the  Colonel  and  asked  rne  to  thank  him  in 
his  name.    Miss  Nancy  said,  "Brother,  just  as  soon 
as  the  change  is  made,  and  you  are  comfortable,  I 
wish  Captain  Johnnie  to  take  me  to  Colonel  Helton's 
quarters  that  I  may  personally  thank  him". 
THE  MINISTER'S  STUDY. 

With  every  care  we  moved  Lieutenant  Hadley  to  the 
new  room.    It  was  cheerful  and  pleasant,  with  a  wood 
fire  burning,  on  the  old-fashioned  "dog  irons",  .There 
were  pictures  on  the  walls,  and  a. most  enchanting  view 
from  its  four  large  windows.    I'iss  Nancy  was  delighted. 
There  was  given  her  as  her  maid,  a  neat,  well-trained 
black  girl  of  about  her  own  age. 

That  night  I  returned  to  camp  and  told  and  retold 
the  incidents  of  the  day  to  listening  ears,  and  later 
took  my  blankets  and  slept  that  night  under  Lieutenant 
Hadley 's  windows.    Learning  of  a  sutler  who  had 
coffee  and  other  things  to  sell  —  borrowed  all  the 

114 


confederate  money  the  boys  willingly  offered,  and 
next  morning  paid  him  fifty  dollars  for  two  and  one- 
half  pounds  of  coffee.    I  don't  remember  what  I  paid 
for  the  rest  of  the  provisions  which  1  placed  in  the 
hands  of  Miss  Nancy's  black  girl.    Later  I  called,  and 
found  that  Lieutenant  Hadley  had  passed  a  restless  night; 
Hiss  Nancy  had  not  closed  her  eyes.   After  receiving 
the  thanks  of  both,  she  asked  me  to  take  her  to  p&y 
her  respects  to  Colonel  Holt  on.    He  was  a  picture,  as 
he  stood  to  receive  her,  with  that  delicacy  and  courtesy 
of  the  true  Southern  gentleman.   "Not  only  for  Brother 
Dick,  but  for  myself,  let  me  thank  you",  she  said.    He 
took   her  proffered  hand  and  kissed  it.   "Ily  child",  he 
said  (laying  his  hand  on  her  head  )  "if  ever  circumstances 
(I  pray  God  they  may  never  come)  find  you  in  need  of  a 
friend,  promise  to  call  on  Colonel  Holt  on".    She  looked 
into  his  eyes,  and  I  saw  the  first  glisten  of  a  tear 
drop,  as  she  said,  "I  will".    When  we  returned  to 
their  room,  her  brother  insisted  on  her  takin      .Ik 
in  the  fresh  air. 

DISMANTLED  GUN. 


How  the  soldiers  uncovered  as  we  passed  by.1   All 
had  heard  of  her,  and  all  tried  to  do  honor  to  our  little 
Yankee  guest.    We  sat  in  the  sunlight  on  an  old  dis- 
mounted gun,  and  talked  with  the  freedom  of  children. 


"Oh,  Captain  Johnnie',  you  are  all  so  different  from 
what  I  expected.1   V/hy  you  all  act  as  though  I  be- 
longed to/royalty".    I  discerned  she  was  a  Methodist 
and  very  religious.    She  believed  the  Bible  from 
•cover  to.  cover.  .   Going  back  through  the  hospital, 
she  several  times  could' not  resist  speaking  words  of 
cheer  to  the  poor  soldiers  that  cast  -their  hungry  eyes 
on  her. 
THE  TWENTY  THIRD  ..PSALM 

At  the  bedside  of  one  who  was  near  death's  door, 
she  stopped,  and  placed  her  warm  hand  on  his  cold  damp 
brow.    Looking  at  her,  he  asked,  "Could  you  repeat 
the.  twenty-third  psalm?"    She  untied  the  strings  of 
her  bonnet, 'letting  it  drop  to  the  floor,  and  fell  to 
her  knees.   With  eyes  that  seemed  .as  though  they  could 
pierce  through  any  distance,  even  to  the  gates  of 
Heaven,  she  repeated  the  psalm,  in  a  clear,  sweet  voice, 
just  as  the  inspired1  prophet  had  written  it,    Not  a 
soul  in  that  entire  building  but   could  distinctly 
hear  every  word  she  uttered,  and  there  was  not  a  dry 
eye  when  she  had  concluded. 

Days  passed  so  swiftly  for  me.    Every  day  I  was 
with  her  and  her  brother,  our  friendship  grew.    She  was 
never  idle,  when  not  waiting  on  her  brother,  5-he  was 
out  in  the  General/Hospital  reading  to,  or  cheering 

116 


the  soldiers.   Twice  I  found  her  on  her  knees  praying 
God  to  spare  a  life.    I  saw  her  run  to  get  her  needle 
case  to  sew  on  a  lost  button  from  the  shirt  the  man 
wore.   Love  her  —  everybody  loved  the  little  Yankee. 
WISHED  TO  MM  MX  CLOTHES. 

One  day  she  said  to  me,  "Captain  Johnnie,  when  you 
go  to  bed  tonight,  if  you  will  hand  me  your  clothes 
through  the  window  I  will  mend  them  for  you".    She  did 
not  know  I  never  took  them  off  when  I  went  to  bed,  as  I 
had  nothing  under  them.    I  saw  it  caused  much  courage 

in  her  to  make  the  request.    I  knew  I  was  dressed  like 

• 

a  tin  soldier  in  most  ill  fitting  clothes,  and  was  al- 
,1, shamed  in  her  presence,  but  there  was  none  other 
to  be  had, 

So  I  called  up  all  the  courage  I  had,  and  related 
ry  incident  connected  with  my  clothes  and  my  orders, 
not  omitting  the  soap.    They  both  laughed  and  cried.   "Oh, 
you  dear,  brave  boy,  and  you  did  it  all  for  us." 

"I  saw  that  you  were  embarrassed  about  your  clothes 
when  you  tore  that-  gold  braid,  off  and  threw  it  behind 
the  old  gun.    I  racked  my  brain  to  find  a  r,eason  for 
your  wearing  them,  not  knowing  that  you  could  get  no 
other,   \vhy,  Captain  Johnnie  ,  didn't  you  tell  me?"    I 
think  a  thousand  times  more  of  you  now  than  if  you 
really  d        ••  I     Prince  Charmin     nee  I 

117 


know  those  old  things  you  are  compelled  to  wear  will 
appear  to  me  as  made  from  the  finest  cloth  and  that 
you  are  dressed  in  the  height   of  fashion.   Isn't  he, 
brother?"    The  poor  wounded  man  leaned  over  saying, 
"Captain  Johnnie,  give  me  your  hand.   Oh,  you  southern 
soldiers^ grow  ev,ery  day,  more  marvelous  and  wonderful 
to  me.   Naked  and  starved,  you  will  fight  to  the  last." 

Hours- I  spent  telling  stories.    How  sweet,  pure 
and  free  were  our  associations.    I  had  passed  the  point 
where  my  clothes  embarrassed  rne ,  and  we  could  both 
laugh  over  my  grotesque  figure.    Her  clothes  were  fine, 
but  very  plainly  made.   We  had  grown  to  be  chums  and 
good  fellows,  and  I  hoped  we  both  looked  forward  to 
many  pleasant  days  together. 

One  evening,  and  the  last,  the  curtains  were  drawn 
to  shut  out  the  light  from  Lieutenant  Hadley ' s  cot. 
THE  PARTING. 

is.s  Nancy  and  I  were  sitting  close  together  on 
the  hearth  before  the  dying  embers  of  the  wood  fire, 
when  a  rap  came  at  the  door.    I  opened  it,  and  an 
officer  handed  me  an  official  envelope.    I  signed  for 
it.    He  saluted  and  left.    Closing  the  door,  I  came 
back  to  the  fire  and  took  my  seat  by  Nancy's  side.  "Oh, 
Captain  Johnnie,  what  is  it?"    "I  don't  know",  I  replied. 
"Please,  let's  see,  I  feel  that  it  is  not  good  news", 

118 


she  said.    I  felt  the  same.   "ITancy" ,  I  said,  "what- 
ever  it  is,  remember  I  will  always  be  your  friend". 
"And  I  will  alv;ays  be  yours",  came  the  quick  reply. 

I  tore  it  open  and  read: 
Captain  Johnnie  Wicker sham :- 

Your  Brig*  General  has  sent  3^our  name  for  .hazard- 
ous service. 

You  are  relieved  from  your  present  duties.  Re- 
port at  10  A.  M.  tomorrow  to  Colonel  Hill  at  General 
Hood's  headquarters. 

By  order,  General  commanding. 

Little  Nancy's  face  was  white.    For  minutes  thus 
sat  without  a  word  being  spoken.   Lieutenant  Hadley 
cried  out,  "Have  you  kids  gone  to  sleep?"   ITancy  drew 
back  the  curtains,  took  the  order  from  rny  hand  saying, 
"Brother,  read  and  tell  us  what  it  means".    "My  God.1" 
came  from  the  cot,  "haven't  they  men  sufficient  to 
do  their  hazardous  work  -without  calling  on  a  boy?"   He 
called  me  to  him  —  took  my  hand,  and  bid  me  goodbye. 
"ITancy",  he  said,  "please  draw  the  curtains,  and  you 
and  Captain  Johnnie  take  a  walk.    I  wish,  if  possible 
to  sleep".     In  her  prettiest  gorm,  we  started  for 
the  old  gun  under  the  pine  tree.    In  lifting  her  upon 
it,  her  hair  broke  loose,  and  a:     ?il  of  lace  hung 
Id  over  shoulder  and  body  almost  to  her  knees. 

119 


Just  then  the  moon,  that  was  in  the  height  of  her 
glory,  broke  through  the  clouds,  and  v^h  her  bright 
rays  trimmed  the  stones  of  the  old  church  spire,  and 
the  tarnished  brass  of  the  old  gun  with  silver. 
were  speechless.    Finally  Nancy  cried,  "Oh,  1  am  so 
afraid  —  don't  you  think  you  can  be  excused?"     ncy"  , 
I  said,  "I'm  ashamed  of  you.   You  don't  mean  what  you 
said.     ould  you  have  me  branded  as  a  coward?"   "ITo.1 
No,1  ITo.'"  she  said.   "ITancy,  if  this  order  had  come  be- 
fore. I  knew  your  brother  Dick  and  you,  I  would  have 
hailed  it  with  joy.   The  only  thing  that  makes  me  sad 
is  leaving  you  two,    Will  you  remember  Captain  Johnnie?11 
She  replied,  "Every  night  at  nine  o'clock,  and  every 
morning  at  seven-thirty,  I  will  be  on  my  knees  praying 
our  God  for  your  safe  return".    "I  will  remember"  I  said. 

A  long  while  we  waited  in  silence,  then  I  quiet 
helped  her  down  from  the  old  gun,  and  v     ' ked  silently 
to  the  hospital.    At  the  door  we  stopped.    I  took  her 
face  between  my  two  hands  and  kissed  her  beautiful  hair, 
I  took  her  hand  and  said,  "Goodbye  Nancy".    "Goodbye^ 
Captain  Johnnie,  and  may  God  keep  you  as  in  the  hollow 
of  his  hand",  came  her  repl       But  I  did  not  go. 
Her  little  hand  lay  so  trustingly  in  mine,  I  did  not 
have  the  courage  to  let  it          stood  many  minutes 
speechless  with  eyes  on  the  ground.    At  last 

120 


came  to      I  released  her  hand  and  ran  out  into  the 

darkne s .  . 

II  SliERMAlT'S  REAR- 

Others  .had  received  the  same  orders  as  myself. 
Imagine  my  surprise  when  I  reached  the  pasture  some 
three  miles  from  Headquarters,  to  find  my  brother  Jim 
and  twenty-  .     .      commissioned  officers  from  our 
brigade.    Later  I  learned  the  coraiiiands  from  Texas, 
Louisiana,  Ai  juri  were  ordered  each  to 

detail  for  "hazardous  service"  ,  -twenty-five  c  or/missioned 
officers  of  the  rank  of  captain  or  under,  making  one 
hundred  in  all.. 

In  this  pasture  were  a  lot  of  artillery  hotses  that 
were  unfit  for  service  in  harness.    They  were  not  all 
horses;  many  were  mules,  and  all  had  sore  necks.    We 
were  ordered  to  catch  a  horse  and  select  a  -saddle  and 
bridle  from  the  pile.     ost  of  the  latter  were  blind 
bridles.    Such  a  scramble  as  we  had.-  I  caught  one 
of  the  best  horses,  much  to  the  disgust  of  the  Colonel. 
Hot  one  of  us  had  the  least  idea  what  we  were  expected 
to  do,  or  where  we  were  goinr. 

At  midnight  we  started.    After  leaving  the  main 
road  we  took  single  file,  a  dim  bridle  path  that  lead 
us  throu.      i  j.ntainous  country.    Colonel  Kill  had 
the  reputation  of  being  the  youngest  Colonel  in  the' 


Confederate  Army.    He  was  detailed  by  General  Hood 
from  his  staff,  was  a  West  Pointer,  and  a  dare-devil. 
We  made  but  slow  progress  on  account  of  the  poor  con- 
dition of  our  horses. 

One  night  at  camp,  Colonel  Hill  made  a  speech*, 
he  told  us  that  we  were  selected  to  perform  deeds  of 
valor;  that  we  were  now  in  the  rear  of  Sherman's  army, 
and  that"  General  Wheeler's  force  being  too  large  to 
do  what  General  Hood  wished  done,  we  -were  selected  to 
seriously  effect  General  Sherman's  communications. 
AI  ACKWORTH  STATION. 

The  next  night  at  sundown  we  mounted  and  rode,  as 
I  learned  later,  toward  Ackworth,  a  station  on  General 
Sherman's  line  of  communication.    It  was  midnight  v/hen 
we  halted.    In  sa -whisper  Colonel  Hill  said,  "Count  off". 
The  leader  started  arid  down  the  line  I  heard,  one  -  two  - 
three  -  four.    When  the  count  reached  me  I  was  "three" 
and  Captain  Ely  was  "four".    "Each  fourth  man  hold 
horses.    The  rest  fall  in  line",  commanded  Colonel  Hill. 
He  rode  along  the  line  and  spied  me  with  Captain  Ely 
holding  horses.    He  turned  and  said,  "You  go  and  hold 
the  horses  and  let  that  man  take  your  place".    I  told 
him  I  would  see  him  in  Hades  first.    He  was  wild  with 
anger,  and  started  to  draw  his  sword,  but  the  men  re- 
belled and  said  that  if  Captain  Johnnie  had  been  number 

122 


four,  he  would  have  held  the  horses.    Colonel  Hill 
saw  he  had  made  a  mistake,  and  asked  if  I  would  go  on 
picket  duty.    I  told  him  I  would,  willingly;  mounted, 
and  he  led  me  through  the  brush  and  said,  "If  I  pro- 
mise not  to  leave  you,  will  you  promise  to  stay  here 
until  you  see,  not  hear  them?"    I  replied,  "I'll  stay". 
I  had  no  idea  what  the  plan  was,  but  I  must  have  been 
there  an  hour  when  I  heard  a  train  coming.    In  my 
front  on  the  hillside  two-hundred  yards  away  was  the 
enemy's  camp;  their  dim  camp  fires  burning  all  over 
the  hillside.    The  train  had  slowed  and  was  passing. 
It  seemed  to  be  an  endless  train  of  box  cars.    It 
was  between  me  and  the  camp  fires. 
I  THOUGHT  GABRIEL  WAS- BLOWING  HIS  HORN  FOR  ME. 

With  the  suddenness  of  a  bursting  bomb,  the  ground 
trembled  and  rocked,  and  the  most  unearthly,  ghostly 
sound  filled  the  ver}~  air  I  breathed.    The  drums  of 
my  ears  ached.   My  poor  horse  was  as  badly  scared  as  I. 
He  squatted  on  his  haunches,  trembled  all  over,  and 
the  sweat  poured  from  him  like  water.    I  most  surely 
thought  Gabriel  had  blown  his  horn,  and  that  my  time 
had  come.    I  learned  afterwards  that  Colonel  Hill  had 
a  switch,  which  he  attached  by  clamps,  T:O  derail  trains, 
but  had  selected  a  poor  place.    There  was  but  a  slight 
embankment  and  the  soil  was  soft,  yellow  clay.    The 

123 


engine  turned  upside  down  and  by  some  accident  it 
turned  on  full  speed  with  the  whistle  valve,  which 
was  down  in  the  mud,  wide  open;  and  no  human  being 
who  never  heard  it ,  can  in  any  way  imagine  the  un- 
earthly noise  it  made.    No  sooner  had  the  train 
stopped  than  the  soldiers  in  the  box  cars  commenced 
firing.    Troops  in  the  firelight  on  the  hill  were  do- 
ing the  same,  and  I,  misplaced  in  the  darkness,  was 
between  them.    HOY/  I  longed  to  go  as  the  minnie 
balls  whistled  over  me  as  I  lay  on  my  trembling  horse's 
neck.    When  the  troops  passed  out  of  the  firelight 
coming  down  the  hill,  I  could  not  see  them  in  the 
darkness.    I  could  see  the  flash  of  their  guns  only. 
Oh.1  would  Colonel  Hil'l  never  come? 

"Captain  Johnnie,  are  you  there?"  came  the  sweet- 
est whisper'  1  ever  heard.   "Yes",  I  whispered.   "Come" 
he  said.   Bang  -  Bang  -  Bang  -  went  their  guns,  not 
ten  feet  away,*  Colonel  Hill  got  one  of  the  bullets 
in  the  arm,  and  my  horse,  one  in  the  neck,    From 
nearly  ten  miles  away  we  still  heard  that  devilish, 
ghostly  whistle. 
PRIVATE  SOLDIERS. 

Our  command  of  one  hundred  officers  in  the  capacity 
of  private  soldiers,  was  the  finest  and  oddest  body 
of  men  I  have  ever  known;  from  the  happy-go-lucky  to 

'  124 


the  most  quiet  and  reserved.    Among  them  was  a  Lieu- 
tenant Sloan  from  Texas,  a  most  quiet,  dignified  man, 
tall  and  gaunt,  and  I  should  think  about  thirty  years 
old.   ITo  one  ever  kzi    -im  to  laugh.   The  inconsistencies 
of  human  nature  are  exemplified  in  the  friendship,  yes 
love,  between  him  and  myself.    At  my  foolishness  and 
chatter  he  would  show  laughter  only  through  his  eyes. 
He  took  much  more  than  a  fatherly  interest  in  me.    He 
helped  me  tend  ray  horses,  divided  his  'grub,  and  saved 
the  choice  bits  for  me  until  it  became  a  by-word  in 
the  command.    We  were  always  together;  we  took  prison- 
ers, but  he  could  not  force  me  to  take  their  shoes  or 
clothes. 
MX  IM  X4H£1^  CLOTHES. 

One  evening  we  started  out  together,  he  saying, 
"Captain  Johnnie,  I  am  going  to  get  you  some  clothes  to- 
night".   After  riding  some' miles,  we  tied  our  horses  and 
crawled  close  to  the  railroad  tracks  and  waited, 
could  see  the  picket  walking  his  beat  on  the  track.   They 
had  one  every  hundred  yards  to  keep  us  from  cutting  wires 
and  other  devilment. 

We  lay  in  either  side  of  a  bridle  path,  -raiting. 
Soon  we  saw  some  one  coming  down  the  path;  his  arms  be- 
hind him.   \Vhen  he  reached  us,  instantly  Sloan's  pistol 
was  in  his  i>ce:  his  hands  went  up.   "Take  his  belt", 

125 


Sloan  whisphered.    Then  without  a  sound  Sloan  marched 
him  three  hundred  yards  away.   He  proved  -co  be  an 
officer  of  the  guard,  a  young  second  lieutenant,  and 
not  much  older  than  myself.    Sloan  told  him  if  he 
spoke  above  a  whisper  he  would  kill  him,  but  that  if 
he  obeyed  orders,  he  would  not  hurt  him  and  would  turn 
him  loose,   "Captain  Johnnie,  don't  you  think  his  clothes 
will  fit  you?"   Stand  beside  him.   Perfect",  he  said, 
"Yank,  skin".   He  pleaded,  but  in  vain.   His  boots 
were  the  finest  I  had  seen.    He  stood  in  his  under- 
clothes.   "What  kind  of  underclothes  are  they?"  Sloan 
asked.   "Silk",  said  the  foolish  boy.    "Johnnie" ,  said 
Sloan,  "did  you  ever  wear  silk  underclothes?",  and  at 
my  reply  "ITo"  he  said,  "Yank,  I'm  sorry,  but  you  will 

have  to  shed".    The  boy  begged,  but  to  no  avail.   "Un- 

» 
tie  the  horses",  he  said  to  me,  and  when  we  were  on 

them  he  begged  the  Yank's  pardon,  and  we  rode  away.   Can 
you  imagine  the  soft  luxurious  feel  of  that  silk  un- 
derwear after  I  had  worn  only  wool  rags  for  so  long? 
CHARLES  AUGUSTUS  EBEITEZER. 

Lieutenant  Sloan  had  full  federal  uniform;  we  all 
had  later.    The  horse  I  was  riding       captured  horse, 
and  a  great  improvement  on  the  one  I  started  with;  but 
he  was  unable  to  run.   One  morning  when  the  Yanks  were 
chasing  us  and  my  horse  could  not  kee     ,vith  the  rest 

126 


Sloan  stayed  with  me  until          ray.   My  horse 
worried  him  greatly.    One  morninr  we  started  out 
and  turned  into  the  main  road  that     lined  with 
federal  wagon  trains,  artillery  and  soldier^.    Sloan 
wore  a  soft,  white  confederate  hat.    He  had  wet  it 
and  stretched  it  over  a  stick  until  it  stood  up  like 
a  dunce  hat.    The  federals  joked  him  over  it  as  we 
rode  along.  Coming  to  a  fine  old  homestead,  the  head- 
quarters of  some  general,  with  long  old  fashioned  hitch- 
ing rack  filled  with,  horses,  he  whispered,  "Here  is 
our  chance  —  ride  slow" ,  and  as  we  rode  up  to  the  rack 
said,  "Tie  by  the  best  horse,  and  mount".    It  was  done 
in  a  moment  —  with  hundreds  of  soldiers  present.    He 
took  a  bay  —  I,  a  chestnut  sorrel,  and  we  quietly  rode 
away,  got  to  the  brut-;     rode  like  the 

wind.    You  have  heard  often  of  this  horse,    Sloan 
named  him  Charles  Augustus  Ebenezer.     He  was  the  envy 
of  everyone  in  c       The  saddle  was  a  beauty  and 
had  holsters  containing  two  pistols.    On  more  than 
one  occasion  this  horse  saved  my  life, 
STAMPEDE  OF  FEDERAL  HORSES.' 

While  on  a  trip  with  Sloan,  we  saw  a  pasture  with 
only  three  or  four  herders  tending  about  two  hundred 
horses.   He  got  ten  of  us  to  go  with  hiri  (we  all  had  on 
federal  clothes  ).    We  passed  into  the  federal  lines  and 

127 


rode-  around  the  herd,  drew  our  revolvers,  fired,  gave 
the  Rebel  yell  and  stampeded  the  lot. 

V/e  reached  camp  ten  miles  away  with  thirty- tv  o 
fine  horses.    We  had  many  fights,  los     y  men,  and 
did  untold  damage  to  Sherman1 s  communications.   A 
force  that  could  whip  us,  we  could  beat  running.   The 
greatest  damage  to  the  enemy  was  in  OLir  continually 
placing  the  most  unique  and  simple  device  that  could 
not  be  seen  except  upon  close  observation,  a  derailing 
switch,  that  by  a  simple  clamp  made  it  fast  to  the  rails 
and  rarely  failed  to  throw  the  engine  off  the  track. 
The  engines,  track,  and  rolling  stock,  in  those  days 
could  not  in  any  way  be  compared  with  our  modern  engines. 
The  men  enjoyed  the  danger  of  cradling  up  and  placing 
them,  although  several  lost  their  lives  in  this  way, 
THE  AMBUSCADE. 

On  this  particular  morning  the  lookout  on  old  '• 
Ball  Knob,  signalled,  "large  command  of  the  enemy  approach- 
ing our  rendezvous  over  the  'Devil's  Backbone1  Road". 

If  you  had  a  relief  map  of  our  coast  range  of 
mountains  adjoining  the  Golden  Gate  on  the  north,  with 
Mount  Tarnalpias  a,s  Old  Ball  Knob,  you  could  form  some 
idea  of  the  topography  of  the  country  in  which  we  were 
operating.    The  only  passage  between  two  ranges  of  moun- 
tains was  nature's  unique,  narrow  and  crooked  formation 

128 


four  miles  in  length,  called  the,  "Devil's  Backbone 
Road".    It  had  been  used  by  bot     ies  as  their 
main  artery  of  travel  for  army  trains  and  artillery. 
As  the  road  bed  had  not  been  re-paired  in  many  years,  the 
deep  ruts  and  holes  caused  it  to  be  abandoned.    It 
v;as  both  picturesque  and  dangerous,  for  in  some  places 
it  was  so  narrow  that  two  wagons  could  not  pass,  and 
if  wagon  or  horse  missed  the  track  it  would  fall  hun- 
dreds of  feet  over  its  perpendicular  sides.   At  its 
greatest  height  it  made  a  sharp  bend  that  seemed  cut 
from  the  mountain  side,  not  by  nature,  but  by  man,  and 
on  one  side  of  this  narrow  passage  for  three  hundred 
feet  its  perpendicular  'rocky  side  ended  in  the  chasm 
below.    Near  this 'place  was  the  only  grove  or  timber  on 
its  entire  crest .   In  places,  narrow  cattle  trails  led 
down  its  sides-  to  small  valleys  belc 

"Mount,111  shouted  the  colonel.    Instantly  every 
man  was  in  the  saddle  and  followed  him,  Indian  fashion, 
up  one  of  the  mountain  trails  to  the  Devil's  Backbone 
road,  to  where  the  shrubs  and  trees  grew  behind  the  bluff, 
where  the  road  made  the  sharp  curve  over  the  chasm.   V/e 
reached  this  point  two  miles  ahead  of  the  advancing 
federals.    We  numbered  sixty  men,  and  were  hidden  in 
the  foliage  so  that  the  advance  guard  twenty  feet  away 
could  not  see  us.    He  cautioned  us  in  the  charge  that 

129 


was  to  follow,  to  avoid  the  precipice  and  keep  to  our 
left.    The  advancing  federals,  with  song  and  laugh- 
ter, were  leisurely  riding  along  this  high  divide 
where  they  could  see  for  miles  on  either  side,  never 

• 

dreaming  that  any  force  would  be  so  foolhardy  as  to 
attack  them  in  such  a  place'.    We  heard  their  laugh- 
ter as  they  turned  the  bend.    They  were  riding  single 
file  over  that  narrow  ledge  of  rock.    They  had  three 
hundred  yards  yet  to  come.    The  rattle  of  their 
sabers  and  jingle  of  their  spurs  sounded  nearer  and 
nearer. 

"Fire.1"  rang  out  the  Colonel's  command.   Sixty 
revolvers  threw  lead  into  the  front  ranks  of  the  sur- 
prised and  terror  stricken  federals.   "Charge.1"  shouted 
the  Col  oriel.    In  a  moment  we  were  on  them.    Many 
left  their  saddles  at  our  first  fire,  others  wheeled 
their  horses  on  that  narrow  ledge;  and  in  their  panic, 
rode -over  or  forced  many  of  those-  in  their  rear  over 
that  awful  precipice.    It  was  terrible.   Colonel  Hill 
called  us.  back,  and  we  divided  into  three  groups  and 
scattered  to  meet  at  our  rendezvous.    I  happened  to 
be  with  the  group  commanded  by  Captain  Ely. 
THE  DEATH  RUN. 

After  we  had  fed,  watered  and  attended  to  our 
horses,  eaten  our  cold  grub  and  were  lying  in  the  shade 

130 


discussing  the  events  of  the  morning,  our  lookout 
reported  that  the  federals  had  changed  their  course 
and  were  returning  over  the  same  road.   "Let  us  follow 
them",  said  one  of  the  men.    Others  joined  in  with 
"We  may  get  a  good  horse  or  two  by  picking  up  stragglers". 
So  with  one  accord,  twenty  of  us  mounted  and  started 
for  their  rear.   Captain  Ely  and  three  men  formed  our 
advance,  and  we,  about  a  mile  behind,  followed,  all 
talking  of  the  morning's  ambuscade.    We  had  traversed 
almost  the  entire  length  of  the  Devil's  Backbone  road, 
past  that  awful  place  where  we  had  engaged  in  the 
morning's  fight  and  where  we  could  now  see,  from  the 
bluff,  seven  dead  and  mangled  horses  stripped  of  saddle 
and  bridle,  on  the  rocks  below.    Their  rear  guard  had 
seen  our  approach.    The  Federal  commander  divided  his 
command  by  ordering  five  companies  to  leave  the  road 
at  a  mountain  trail,  expecting  us  to  keep  the  main  road 
so  that  they  could  get  in  our  rear.    He  also  ordered 
two  men  on  swift  horses  to  drop  behind  as  stragglers. 

With  our  guns  lying  carelessly  across  the  pommels 
of  our  saddles  we  came  to  the  trail  where  it  left  the 
hard  rock  road,  and  there  saw  the  fresh  tracks  of  hun- 
dreds of  horses'  feet.    We  stopped  and  then  and  there 
decided  that  Captain  Ely  could  not  have  failed  to  see 
that  the  Federals  had  left  the  road,  and  that  he  had 

131 


taker:  the  brail.    After  much  discussion  we  turned  and 
fcilc  •  trail.    The  Federal  < 

both  surprised  and  pleased  at  the  report  of  his  look- 
outs, quickly  dismounting  and  placing  in  as  perfect  an 
ambuscade  as  was  ours  in  the  morning,  detailing  a  hun- 
dred of 'his  men  mounted,  on  the  swiftest  horses-,  saying 
if  any  of  them  are  in  the  saddle  after  our  first  fire 
to  charge,  and  he  would  have  sweet  revenge  for  the  morn- 
ing ' s  fight . 

I  was 'riding- my  beautiful  Charles  Augustus  Ebenezer, 
I 'had  taken  from  the  hitch  rack  at  the  headquarters  of 
some  Federal  ccinriaiader.    In  intelligence  and  affection, 
he  was  almost  hums.     Every  line  of  his  body,  the 
glossy  silkiness  of  nib, coat ,  the  grace  and  symmetry  of 
his  head  and  ears,  indicated  intelligence  and  purity 
of  blood.    I  do  not  believe  he  ever  had  an  equal  for 
speed   or  endurance. 
THE  AMBUSCADE. 

When  barely  a  mile  from  the  old  road,  a  blinding 
flash  as  of  lightn:     let  us  from  two  hundred  guns. 
Before  we,  who  kept  our  saddles,  could  recover,  like 
a  cyclone  rushed  over  and  by  us,  the  hundred  horsemen. 
I,  on  Charles  Augustus  Ebenezer,  and  five  others  who 
had  kept  their  saddles,  wheeled  and  started  up  that 
mountain  trail  for  the  Devil's  Backbone  road. 

132 


THE  BRUTE  IN  MAJM. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  most  singular  phases  of  human 
nature  is  shown  in  a  fight.    You  have  seen  how,  even 
in  a  fist  fight,  when  the  blood  is  up,  all  former  train- 
ing vanishes  and  is  overwhelmed  by  the  brute  force  in- 
herent in  us.    You  remember  Senator  Tildon,  in  a  speech 
in  the  Senate,  said,  "If  you  prick  a  negro's  skin,  you 
still  find  the  negro".    So  it  is  with  us.  .Tear  from 
us  the  covering  that  education,  religion  and  peaceful 
living  clothes  us  with,  and  you  will  find  left  only  the 
brute.   .     aore  does  this  force  predominate  when  the 
struggle  is  for  life  or  death.    Men  becorie  mad  in  the 
frenzy  and  excitement  of  combat  and  while  God's  name 
is  ever  on  their  lips,  it  is  spoken  neither  in  honor  nor 
supplication. 

The  mad  rush  up  that  mountain  side  while  they 
rmecl  around  us  on  every  side,  heaping  oaths  and  curses 
upon  us.1    They  were  delirious  with  it  all.    I  threw 
myself  flat  on  my  horse's  neck.    The  pace  at  which 

•.rig  to.  •,     :ith  the  unevenness  of  the  road, 
made  our  shots  uncertain.    By  the  time  we  reached  the 
Devil's  Backbone  road,  we  had  outdistanced  most  of  our 
pursuers,  many  of  whose  horses  had  fallen,  the  rocky 
mountain  side  being  strewn  with  horses  and  their  riders. 

To  surrender  we  knew  meant  death.   On  we  pushed, 

133 


digging  the  rowels  •  of  our  spurs  deeper  into  our  hors 
flanks.    There  were  now  but  three  of  us  left  when 
passed  that  right  angle,  where  we  had  lain  in  ambuscade 
for  them.    Captain  McCoy's  horse  could  not  make  the 
sudden  turn,  and  the  Captain  and  many  of  the     -uing 
Federals  leaped  into  that  cruel  chasm.      were  go- 
ing down  the  road,  and  I  saw  that  only  Lieutenant 
McBride  and  I  were  left.    Three  Yanks,  who  had  quite 
a  start  of  us,  were  still  ahead.   Behind  were  quite  a 
number,  and  when  the  road  widened,  one  man  on  a  mag- 
nificent horse,  forcing  '•      y  to  my  side,-  thrust  at 
me  with  his  sword.    Our  only 'hope  of  safety  was  to 
reach  the  valley  at  the  foot  of  the  road.       ,ad  gone 
only  three  of  the  five  miles »    The  pace  was  terrific. 
Neither  Federals  nor  we  "hexl.  a  shot  left,  and  no  man  could 
have  loaded  at  the  speed  we      making  and  over  a  road 
where  every  step  was  a  pitfall.    Gradually  the  number 
of  the  pursuers,  grew  less  and  less,  as  from  exhaustion 
or  stumbling,  their  horses  fell,  and  in  many  instances 
rolled  over  the  embankment .    Perhaps  ther-       .ot 
more  than  a  dozen  Federals  now  following,  although  to 
us  it  seemed  as  if  there  .d.    Then  came  a 

level  stretch.    Charles  Augustus  Ebenezer  could  have 
left  them,  but  Lieutenant  He Bride's  horse  was  showing  the 
effects  of  the  race.    The  Federal  on  the  fine  horse 

134.- 


reached  my  side.    How  he  did  curse  me  saying  he 
could  have  killed  my  horse  but  that  he  spared  him  as 
he  intended  to  own  him.    I  made  myself  as  small  as 
possible,  fearing  to  turn  so  as  to  throw  my  weight 
to  his  side  as  the  speed  at  which  we  were  going  was 
so  terrific,  he  might  lose  his  balance  over  the  rough 
road  and  fall.    The  man  made  a  lunge  at  me  with  his 
sword.    I  thirk  Charles  Augustus  Ebenezer  saw  his 
aim,  for  he  sprang  forward,  tl     n  lost  his  balance, 
and  both  man  and  beavt  rolled  down  the  mountain  side. 
The  horse  of  one  01  the  three  riders  ahead  fell,  and 
he  lay  in  the  dust  by  the  roadside.   I  looked  back  and 
there  was  no  one  in  sight.   "Captain  Johnnie",  said 
Lieutenant  ivIcBride,  "Let  us  try  and  bluff  those  two 
bloody  spalpeens  ahead  of  us".     "Shall  we  give  the 
rebel  yell?"  I  asked,   "Wait  until  they  have  a  chance 
to  get  away",  he  replied.    When  they  reached  the 
valley  where  the  underbrush  grew  thick  and  rank,  he 
shouted,  "ItfovT,".   Uyi>  Yi>  Yi"»  v/e  yelled,  and  pushing 
our  tired  horses  forward  and  flourishing  cur  empty  re- 
volvers, we  charged.    They  turned  into  the  brush  and 
we  passed  on  unmolested.       )on  struck  the  trail 
leading  to  our  rendezvous,  and  half  a  mile  from  the  old 
road,  Lieutenant  McBride's  horse  stumbled  and  fell  dead. 
We  walked  the  remaining  mile  and  a  half,  leading  Charles 

135 


Augustus  Ebenezer.    When  I  passed  t  :.n 

is  fashion  followed,  by  Lieutenant  MoBride,  r 
his  saddle  and  bridle,  and  the  men  noticed  my  horse's 
drooping  hea.d  and  bloody  nostrils,  and  the  red  blood 
showing  through  the  white  foam  that  covered  his  entire 
body  where  my  spurs  had  dug  into  his  sides,  a  cry  of 
horror  went  up.    Brother  Jim  began  to  upbraid  me,  and 
I  believe  would  hav-e  struck  me  had  it  not  been  for 
Lieutenant  McBride ,    To  abuse  Charles  Augustus  Ebenezer 
was  worse  than  a  crime,  for  he  vras  the  pride  of  the 
command.    What  a  change  came  over  them  when  we  told 
our  story.1   I  can  see  now  that  group  of  listening  men 
with  wonder  in  their  eyes,  as  Lieutenant  IlcBride,'  in 
his  Irish  brogue,  told  of  that  race  for  life.    There 
was  but  one  hero  as  he  told  it,  and  that  hero  was 
Charles  Augustus  Ebenezer.    Never  was  a  horse  better 
groomed.    Every  hour  through  that  night  he  was  given 
a  little  water,  and  his  bed  made  softer  by  the  wild 
grass  which  the  men  pulled.   Colonel  Hill  himself  in- 
sisted upon  taking  his  turn  caring  for  him. 

The  second  day,  Captain  Ely  and  one  man  rode  into 
camp*    His  story  was  a^-  follows:  diers 

at  a  point  about  where  the  c  . d.  one 

Iking  and  appearing  to  be  endeavor."  is 

horse  along,  while  the  other  r.ian  followed  ; 

136 


to  be    i  v--ing  the  lead  horse  to  keep  him  movir;    The 
main  body  of  Federals,  half  a  mile  ahead,  was  just  turn- • 
ing  the  bend.   Here,  we  thought,  was  our  chance,  and 
putting  spurs  to  our  horses,  charged  them.   Never  were 
-we  more  surprised  when,  while  we  were  yet  three  hun- 
dred yards  distant,  we  saw  the  soldier  leap  to  the 
back  of  $3         ritly  exhausted -horse  and  start  off 
at  full  speed.   He  ran  like  a.  scared  devil.-    This, 
Colonel,  is  rny  only  excuse  for  overlooking  the  trail". 

^re  camped  one  night  with  General  Wheeler's  command: 
we  had  won  a  wonderful  reputation  and  had  been  proclaimed 
heroes.    General     i.er  invited  Colonel.  Kill  to  dine 
with  him,  and  sent  us  word  to  report  at  nine  o'clock 
next  morning  at  his  headquarters,  that  he  wished  to 
compliment  us.    In  the  dense  pine  forest  in  which 
were  was  a  little  log  cabin.    The   only  opening  was 
a  door,  and  it  had  a  clapboard  roof  held  on  by  laying 
pol  At  the  nailed  door  sat  a  guard.    It 

excited  my  curiosity,  and  on  inquiring  of  the  guard, 
learned  there     a  barrel  of  "moonshine11  (whisky  )  which 
General  Wheeler  wished  to  keep  from  his  troops.    I 
could  peep  in  a  crack  and  see  the  barrel  with  a  faucet 
in  it .    I  told  Sloan  and  some  of  the  other  men;  told 
them  the  guard  was  wild  to  hear  of  our  exploits,  and  if 

137 


a:  bunch  of  "boys  would  entertain  him,  I  could  climb 
up  and  remove  the  clapboards  and  get  a  canteen  of 
whifeky.   All  agreed.    I  got  in  all  right,  drew  the 
canteen,  took  a  taste  which  nearly  burned  my  insides, 
and  passed  it  up  to  Sloan.    He  tried  it  too,  then 
oalled  for  more  canteens;  in  fact  all  we  had,  and 
still  there  was  whisky  in  the  barrel.    I  asked  for 
camp  kettles  and  drew  every  drop  into  the  buckets.    I 
put  the  boards  and  poles  back,  called  off  our  enter- 
tainers, and  we  went  quietly  to  our  camp.    The  rest 
of  the  men  were  asleep,  but  we  awoke  them  and  handed 
them  a  camp  kettle  and  told  them  to  drimk.    I  do 
not  remember  any  more  until  about  10  o'clock  the  next 
morning  when  I  found  myself  almost  drowned  in  the 
coldest  water  ice  ever  made.     on  I  could  open  nry 
eyes,  I  saw  all  the  rest  of  the  command  in  the  same 
cold  stream,  with  a  thousand  soldiers  on  the  bank  shout- 
ing with  laughter.    It  took  time  for  us  all  to 
realize  it  was  not  a  dream.    Everyone  of  us  had 
later  the  details  of  how  it  all  happened  positively 
impressed  on  our  minds. 

When  we  failed  to  report  at  General  Wheeler's  head- 
quarters, General  Wheeler,  Colonel  Hill,  with  staff 
officers  and  soldiers,  rode  to  our  camp  to  ascertain 
the  cause  of  our  not  complying  v/ith  orders.    General 

138 


Wheeler  could  scarcely  keep  his  horse  for  laughter. 
Colonel  Hill  had.  spent  the  evening  extolling,  not 
only  our  bravery,  btrb  our  morals. 
WE  ALL  HAD  A  BA^ 

Colonel  Hill  did  not  laugh.    They  said  he  turned 
perfectly  whit ^  vith  rage,  took  it  as  a  personal  in- 
sult, asked  General  Wheeler  for  a  detail,  and  had  our. 
helpless  bodies  carried  to  the  bank  of  the  stream, 
which  was  ten  feet  high,  and  v/ith  a  one  -  two  -  three  - 
threv;  us,  amid  shouts  and  laughter  into  the  cold  water. 
One  by  one,  like  drowning  rats,  we  crawled  up  the  bank, 
sober.    There  was  not  a  single  one  that  had  a  re- 
semblance of  a  hero  about  him. 

Wheeler  put  his  guard  in  irons.   Hill  arrested 
three  of  our  men,  and  when  brought  before  him  in  the 
presence  of  General  Wheeler,  threatened  to  drum  them 
out  of  the  service  if  they  did  not  confess  the  details. 
They  would  not  say  one  word.    Others  were  arrested, 
but  not  one  would  tell.    Finally  I  was  called.   I  had 
reason  to  know  he  liked  me.    I  started  to  take  a  chair. 
He  said,  "Stand  up,  you  will  never  sit  in  my  presence 
until  you  tell  w     s  the  guilty  one".    I  said, 
"Colonel,  I'm  sorry  then,  I  will  never  sit  in  your 
presence,  every  man  you  have  in  the  guard  house  is 
as  innocent  as  you  are".    Turning  to  General  Wheeler, 

139 


I  remarked.  "Your  guard,  is  perfectly  innocent  of  any 
knowledge  whatever11.    He  replied,  "Is  that  the  word 
of  an  officer  and  a  gentleman? "    I  said  it  was.   He 
called  an  aide.    "Present  my  apology  to  the  guard  and 
release  him".    He  turned  to  Colonel  Hill  and  said,  "I 
am  now  not  only  convinced  that  your  men  are  heroes,  but 
gentlemen.    You  have  had  nine  officers  before  you,  and 
not  one  would  betray  a  comrade.   Three  would  brave  the 
ignominy  of  being  drummed  out  of  the  service  before 
they  would  commit  a  dishonorable  act.   I  would  like  to 
grasp  the  hand  of  every -man  in  your  command".    The  men 
were  released. 
THE  BIG  FILL  AT 

Our  instructions  when  in  Sherman's  rear  were  to 
avoid,  if  possible,  a  conflict  with  the  enemy.    Y/e 
were  not  sent  to  do  cattle.    Orders  read,  "use  every 
endeavor  to  destroy  and  interrupt  all  railroads,  wire 
and  bridge  communication  between  General  Sherman's  army 
at  Atlanta  and  the  north" . 

Colonel  Hill  tried  to  obey  orders.   Again  and  again, 
he  would  shout,  "Run,  I  tell  you,  run.    Never  fight  un- 
less cornered".    Had  his  cororand  been  composed  of  a 
regular  detail  of  one  hundred  men,  ive  been 

possible  to  have  controlled  them,  but  not     ith  his 
dare-devil  lot.    Each  one  seemingly  vied  with  the  other 

140 


to  do  the  most  reckless  thing.    We  were  only  a  few 
in  number,    With  more  Federal  cavalry  continually  on 
our  trail,  we  were  on  the  move.    From  mountain  peaks, 
our  pickets  kept  us  informed  of  the  enemies'  movements. 
Our  advantage  was  the  soallness  of  our  command.   They 
moved  against  us  only  in  large  bodies.    The  heavy  force 
that  protected    their  wooden  bridges  (steel  bridges 
were  almost  unknown  in  those  days  )  made  them  almost 
free  from  our  attack.    I  only  remember  two  bridges  that 
we  destroyed, -and  on  one  occasion,  we  had  quite  a  fight. 
We  caught  them  unaware  with  our  surprised  charge  and 
drove  them  back  before  they  could  rally. 

Our  detail  had  placed  the  gunpowder  (dynamite  was 
unknown)  under  the  bridge,  lighted  the  fuse  and  then 
scampered  away.   We  saw  the  bridge  crumble  and,  fall. 
General  Sherman's  organization  was  so  perfect  that  1>o 
our  great  surprise,  trains  were  passing  over  the  bridge 
next  day.   Almost  every  night  details  were  sent  to 
different  parts  of  the  railroad  to  place  derailing 
switches.    I  do  not  think  we  ever  failed  to  throw  one 
or  more  trains  into  the  ditch  at  each  attempt. 
H  DRAW  LOTS.   . 

We  had  all  met  at  our  appointed  rendezvous,  and 
just  before  sundown,  Colonel  Hill  ordered  the  men  in 
line,  saying,  "Tonight  I  am  going  to  send  ten  men  to  the 

141 


railroad  to  derail  trains.    I  have  selected  the  lo- 

p 

cation  for  the  placing  of  the  ten  switches  some  fif- 
teen miles  apart.   As  some  of  "these  places  are  so 
much  more  hazardous  than  others,  I  cannot  force  myself 
to  select  the  men,  so  I  have  decided  to  have  3^ou;  draw 
lots.    In  this  hat  on  slips  are  written  the  ten  loca- 
tions*  As  I  pass  down  the  line  I  wish  every  man  with 
closed  eyes,  to  draw  a  slip  from  the  hat.    Those  draw- 
ing a  slip  on  which  a  location  is  written  will  prepare 
immediately  to  go  alone  to  the  designated  place,  and  if 
possible  derail  a  train". 

Lieutenant  .Sloan  had  just  drawn  a  blank.   I  was 
next.   Now  although  I  was  ever  ready  at  all  times  for- 
any  escapade,  I  felt  my  pulse  quicken  when  I  read  on 
the  slip  I  drev/  "The  Big  Fill  at  Kennesaw" .   Lieutenant 
Sloan  tried  to  force  his  blank  into  my  hand,  and  to 
take  mine.    One  who  has  passed  over  the  Georgia  road 
could  not  help  having  noticed  that  mighty  embankment  or 
fill  between  two  mountain  ranges.   At  that  time  it 
was  known  as  the  longest  and  highest  earthen  fill  in 
the  entire  south.    For  twenty  years  after  the"  war,  as 
the  train  passed  slowly -over  it,  one  could  see  at  the 
bottom,  parts  of  an  engine  and  hundreds  of  wheels  and 
twisted  iron  which  the  fire  could  not  destroy.   When 
Brother  Jim  saw  what  I  had  drawn  he  said,  "Johnnie,  give 

14-2 


it  to  me"  .    "Hot  on  your  life"  ,  I  replied.     Had  I 
permitted  Brother  -Jim  to  take  my  place,  and  had  it 
"become  known  in  the  command,  I  do  not  believe  a  man 

•Id  ever  have  recognized  or  spoken  to  me  again.   It 
would  have  meant  disgrace  forever.      ten,  who  had 
drawn  the  fated  slips,  got  busy  preparing  for  our  long 
night  ride.    I  changed  my  clothing  and  to  my  back  was 
tied  the  derailing  switch.    Jim  tied  his  much  prized, 
heavy  riding  gloves  to  my  belt.    They  were  my  salva- 
tion, as  my  gloves  wer'j  worthless  before  I  was  half 
way  up  the  fill.   Only  one  who  is  familiar  with  the 
tropical  growth  of  the  south,  can  appreciate  the  diffi- 
culty of  that  undertaking.     This  fill  or  embankment 
was  fifteen  years  old.     Itr,  sides  were  a  mass  of  tan- 
gled shrubs  and  vines  more  impenetrable  than  a  cane 
brake.    The  blackberry,  like  an  octopus,  had  pushed 
its  long  tentacles  around  and  through  every  shrub  and 
vine,  and  made  a  barrier  -Jiich  no  man  had  ever  attempted 
to  pa      General  Sherman  ki  a  body  of 

men  trying  to  destroy  his  communication.  .    Hence  nothing 
seemed  to  him  i      ible  for  us  to  attempt.    For  every 
hundred  .''yards  of  track  acr          ill,  and  on  his 
entire  line  of  cornmunico.tioiis  for  that  matter,  one  of 
his  pickets  walked  their  beat-.    In  my  opinion  t. 
it  very  unwisely,  as  each  picket  would  march  a  hundred 

143 


yards  and.  meet  another,  then  about  face      larch  back. 
In  this  way  they  left  exposed  to  our  attack     -rtion 
of  the  track  when  th>:       1  to  walk  in  opposite  direc- 
tions.   At  sundown  I  "bid  all  goodbye.    They  seemed  more 
impressed  than  I.    I  was  only  a  boy  and  did  not  have 
the  realization  of  danger  that  was  *;iven  to  men.   Charles 

Augustus  Ebenezer  carried  me  many  miles  to  the  base  of 
the  fill.    I  selected  the  tallest  pine  tree  near  to 
which  I  might  tie  him,  so  that  he  could  the  more  easily 
be  found.    I  started  with  a  large  corn  knife  to  cut 
my  way  to  the  top  of  the  fill.    Fortunately  I  never 
learned  to  swear,  or  I  most  surely  would  have  given  vent 
to  my  feelings.    To  me  the  climb  was  never  monotonous.. 
My  mind  was  continually  saying  over  and  over,  t:V/hat  will 
I  find  at  the  top  of  the  fill?"    Throe  o'clc     3  the 
time  set  for  the  placing  cf  all  the  derailing  ow itches. 
I  arrived  where  I  could  see  the  picket  ".valkri     Ls  beat. 
It  was  an  hour  before  the  time.    The  briers  had  torn 
my  heavy  clothes  in  shreds.   I  was  bleeding  from  many 
scratches.    How  long  that  hour  seemed.1    I  took  my 
watch,  time  and  again  from  my  pocket.     ten  the  picket's 
back  was  turned  I  crawled  closer  and  closer  through  the 
tangled  mass.    Now  I  war.  so  close  I  scarcely  breathed. 
The  picket  was  twenty  yards  away:  now  I  was  lying  on  the 
track.   Before  he  turned,  my  derailing  sv'itch  was  made 

144 


fast  and  I  fell  over  the  bank  and  lay  motionless,  the 
thorns  sticking  seemingly  into  my  every  pore.      en 
he  again  turned,  I  scrambled  to  my  feet  and  started 
downward.    I  had  lost  the  trail  I  had  cut  when  I  heard 
a  train  coming  around  the  bend.    In  my  excitement  I 
had  not  noticed  it.    Horror  upon  horror  flashed  through 
my  brain.    On  what  side  of  the  track  did  I  set  the 
switch  to  throw  the  train?   For  the  life  of  me,  I  could 
not  remember,  but  felt  sure  it  was  on  my  side.    The 
thought  made  me  fall  twenty  feet.    I  lost  my  knife, 
canteen,  and  all.    T\vice  I  hung  suspended  by  the  few 
clothes  that  were  still  left  on  my  body.    Down,  down, 
regardless  of  bruises  or  briers,  was  my  only  thought. 
The  train  was  almost  to  the  switch.    I  knew  it  would 
not  lodge,  but  go  the  three  hundred  feet  to  the  bottom. 
I  felt  there  was  no  chance  of  escape,  yet  I  actually 
leaped  at  every  chance  I  had  to  get  away.   A  crash 
came  like  a  peal  of  loudest  thunder.   Again  and  again 
it  continued.    I  felt  the  great  iron  wheels  crushing 
me  and  I  fainted. 

It  was  daylight  when  my  mind  grew  normal  and  my 
senses  returned.    I  lay  for  some  tin?     re  I  fell, 
thinking  it  all  over.    I  was  in  tatters  and  bleeding, 
but  felt  no  pain.    From  this  I  kru:      J:  the  train  had 
gone  over  the  other  side  of  the  fill.    Finally  I  found 

145 


Charles  Augustus  Ebenezer,    Aftc.-       f forts,  I  pulled 
myself  into  the  saddle.      hands  refused  to  hold  the 
reins,  but  the  trusty  fellow  carried  me  safely  to  the 
camp.    They  took  my  bruised  and  bleeding  body  from  his 
back  and  laid  me  on  a  blanket .    It  was  like  the  home 
coming  of  the  prodigal. 
ORDERED  BACK. 

An  officer  bearing  orders  from  General  Hood  finally 
reached  us.   Colonel  Kill,  suffering  from  a  recent  wound, 
placed  Captain  Ely  in  temporary  command  with  instructions 
to  assemble  the  company.   We  numbered  twenty-nine  for 
duty,  and  with  the  exception  of  seven,  all  bore  scars  of 
battle.    Captain  Ely  read  to  us  General  Hood's  orders 
to  Colonel  Hill,  complimenting  him  (Colonel  Kill)  on 
the  gallantry  and  brilliant  achievements  of  his  command, 
and  ordering  our  return. 

Colonel  Kill  then  requested  that  his  rudely  con- 
structed stretcher  be  placed  in  our  front,  and  thereupon 
addressed  us  in  words  both  brave  and  sad.    He  spoke  in 
detail  of  the  events  as  they  had  occurred;  told  of  the 
brave  and  daring  deeds  of  both  living  and  dead,  not 
forgetting  to  mention  each  and  every  one  who  had  shared 
in  them.    He  said  he  would  always  feel  that  no  man 
had  been  so  honored  as  he,  in  being  the  commander  of  a 
body  of  such  fearless  men,  and  that  he  wa,s  confident  no 

146 


offense  would  be  taken  if  he  suggested  throe  names  for 
special  mention  when  making  his  report  to  General  Hood. 
He  further  stated  that  he  would  call  such  names  and 
leave  it  to  the  vote  of  the  command.    The  names  he 
mentioned  were:  Lieutenant  Sloan,  Lieutenant,  jtfcBride , 
and  "Our  Little  Captain  Johnnie".     The  Company  showed 
their        L  of  the  selection  by  a  unanimous  cheer. 
Colonel  Hill  then  concluded  by  saying  that  his  report 
would  contair     ;ial  mention  of  the  individual  deeds  of 
heroism  of  every  one  of  his  hundred  men;  that  he  had 
kept  ^  diary  of  events  and  found  it  included  the  names 
of  all  those  on  its  muster  roll.    He  said  he  would  ask 
General  Hood  to  grant  any  reasonable  request  made  by 
Lieutenants  Sloan  and  KcBride ,  and  Captain.  Johnnie. 
WAR  TROPHIES. 

Then  came  the  hurry  and  scramble  of   gathering 
together  our  captured  plunder,  -  from  caves,  hollow  logs, 
and  every  conceivable  hiding  place,  the  men  gathered  their 
trophies  of  war  including  pistols,  swords,  blankets  and 
articles  of  evei-y  description. 

There  were  four  men  who  were  so  seriously  wounded 
that  it  was  unwise  to  attempt  to  take  them  on  that  long 
journey,  so  with  great  sorro-        e  compelled  to  leave 
them  behind,    From  our  storehouse  we  left  everything 
possible  for  their  comfort  and  maintenance. 

147 


Colonel  Hill     E  a  letter  which  was  later 
tacked  to  a  tree  on  the  "Devil1  ad"  ,  ask- 

ing that  humane  treatment  be  given  our  wounded  men 
by  the  enemy.    The  name  and  rank  of  each': was' mentioned 
in  the  letter.    We  afterwards  learned  that  tnis  re- 
quest had  been  royally  granted.   Both  Colonel  Hill  and 
Captain  Ma-llory  were  wounded,  but  they  insisted  they 
could  keep  their  saddles,  which  they  did. 

However,  it  was  not  so  writh  Lieutenant  McBride, 
who  was  not  able  to  sit  up,  but  Lieutenant  Sloan  and  I 
determined  he  should  accompany  us.    By  fastening  two 
poles  to  the  saddles  of  Charles  August u::       or  in 
front,  and  my  roan  horse  in  the  rear,  fairly 

comfortable  stretcher,  which  we  lined       my  layers 
of  blankets.    Colonel  Hill  then  ordered  Lieutenant 
Sloan  and  myself  to  take  turns  daily  caring  for  the  com- 
fort of  Lieutenant' McBride.    I  would  have  been  proud 
to  have  had  you  know  him.    He  had  a  personality,  the 
most  unique  and  fascinating  of  any  I  h;     rer  encounter- 
ed.   He  was  a  perfect  type  of  the  .young  Irish  dare- 
devil.   Physically,  God  had  been  most  kind  to  him, 
and  in  his  Federal  Colonel's  uniform,  r       thout  a 
flower  in  the  lapel  of  his  coat,  he  alone,  in  our 
command  was  a  "beau" .    He  kept  the  camp  in  a  continual 
roar  of  laughter,  with  his  quaint  Ir:>     "  cries,  while 

140 


in  every  fight  instinctively  we  knew  he  was  where  dan- 
ger was  greatest.   In  that  long  ride  back,  never  once 
did  he  utter  a  complaint.    The  third  day  he  insisted 
that  we  let  Charles  Augustus  Ebeiiezer  free,  saying,  with 
a  laugh,  he  had  more  sense  than  the  two  of  us.    This 
proved  to  be  the  truth,  for  the  horse  realized  his 
responsibility  and  selected  the  best  and  smoothest  trails. 
OFF  FOR  ATLANTA. 

Indian  fashion,  behind  our  guide,  we  started  at 
midnight  over  the  mountain  trails  on  that  long  ride 
•  around  the  Federal  Army,  to  join  our  army  at  Atlanta.   I 
will  not'  tire  you  with  details  of  that  monotonous  ride. 
Day  by  day,  Lieutenant  Sloan  and  I  took  personal  charge 
'of  Lieutenant  McBride  and  finally  we  reached  the  suburbs 
of  Atlanta.    It  happened  that  day  to  be  Lieutenant 
Sloan's  turn  to  attend  Lieutenant  McBride,  and  he  was 
ordered  to  push  forward-  and  place  hir:  charge  in  the 
General  Hospital;  we  to  go  into- camp  five  miles  out,  and 
there  to  await  orders.    You  cannot  imagine  hov/  the  men 
grumbled  and  complained  at  the  dela;;  .    They  were  anxious 
to  hear  from  their  comrades,  and  relate  the  thrilling  in- 
cidents of  our  life  in  the  rear  of  Sherman's  arniyl    Hot 
one  word  in  ten  weeks  had  reached  us  from  our  command. 
I,  too,  was  anxious  to  meet  my  old  comrades,  but  I 
believe  my  desire  was  greater  to  see  "Little  Yankee  Nancy". 

149 


"Captain  Ely" ,  i: cried,  "if  you  will  give  me  permission 
to  ride  to  the.  General  Hospital,  I  v/ill  give  you  my 
wprd  of  honor  that  I  will  just  say  'howdy1  to  Miss 
Hancy  and  run  my  horse  all  the  way  back".    "Sorry, 
Captain  Johnnie",  he  replied,  "I'm  expecting  orders  any 
minute  to  move,  and  I  cannot  disobey.      instructions 
are  to  hold  every  man  in  camp".    Oh,  the  misery  of 
those  three  daysi 

A!  LAST; 

'  At  last  came  the  order  —  "Disband  and  return  to 
your  -commands.   Assemble  the  following  Sunday  at  10  A. 
at  General  Hood1 s  headquarters  for  inspection".    I  waited 
to  hear  no  more.   Charles  Augustus  Ebenezer  was  already 
saddled,  and  -with  a  "Goodbye  boys",  I  gave  him  rein  and 
we  were  soon  flying  towards  the  General  Hospital.    I  was 
so  proud  and  happy.   My  clothes  were  so  fine,  my 
trappings  burnished,  a  flower  in  my  coat,    What  would 
she  say  when  she  saw  me,  was.  the  uppermost  thought  in 
my  mind.    I  tied  my  horse  to  the  old  dismantled  gun 
and  entered.   No  one  greeted  me,  the  faces  were  un- 
familiar.   I  caused  comment  as  I  walked  doT,vn  that 
long  aisle,  only  (?)  by  my  Federal  clothes.    I  rapped 
on  the  door  of  the  minister's  study,  but  no  answer 
carae.  ,  I  turned'  the  knob  and  walked  into  an  empty  room. 
I  sat  on  her  couch  —  my  disappointment  was  the  greatest 

150 


I  had  ever  known.   My  old  friend,  the  surgeon,  came,  and 
I  was  so  ashamed,  for  he  saw  I  had  been  crying.  "Lieu- 
tenant Hadly" ,  he  said  "improved  rapidly  and  four  days 
ago  was  exchanged.    His  little  sister  went  with  him. 
They  left  many  messages  for  you".    But  I  could  not 
stay  there  to  hear  them.    I  found  my  horse  and  slowly 
rode  to  my  command.   Enthusiasm  and  pride  were  lost  in 
the  realization  that  "Little  Yankee  Nancy"  and  I  would 
never  again  see  each  other. 
MY  COKMA1D. 

I  tied  my  horse  where  the  shells  of  the  enemy  could 
not  reach  him  and  walked  down  the  trench  until  I  came 
to  my  command.   It  was  like  the  homecoming  of  the 
"Prodigal";  many  of  the  men  in  their  joy,  embraced  me, 
but  I  was  in  a  frame  of  mind  that  could  not  appreciate 

their  welcome.    Others  who  had  arrived  there  before  me 

i 

had  told  many  incidents  of  our  raid.    Older  men  love  to 
magnify  the  deeds  of  a  boy,  and  when  the  stories  had 
been  retold  half  a  dozen  times  they  were  exaggerated 
similar  to  the  fisherman's  story  regarding  the  size  of 
the  fish  that  got  away.    There  were  but  nine  of  us 
returning,  out  of  the  twenty-five  who  had  left,  and 
when  we  learned  of  the  many  friends  and  iness-mates  who 
were  lying  in  the  trench  just  back  of  us,  we  could  not 
keep  back  the  tears.    Many  of  my  most  intimate  friends 

151 


were  among  those  who  had  met  death  during  our  absence. 
The  boys  assured  me  of  how  they 'had  kept  their  promise 
to  see  that  "Little  Yankee  Nancy"  and  her  brother  had 
every  comfort  possible  while  I  was  away  —  told  of  a 
soldier  in  an  Alabama  Regiment  who  had  received  a  box 
of  cakes  and  dainties  from  home,  and  of  how  they  had 
stolen  the  box  one  night  and  had  given  it  to  1-Iiss  Nancy's 
black  girl,  Mary;  and  how  Miss  Nancy  instead  of  keeping 
the  delicacies  for  her  brother  Dick  and  herself,  had 
distributed  all  to  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers  in  the 
hospital.   "V/e  never  saw  her11,  they  said,  "out  she  asked 
'Have  you  heard  from  Captain  Johnnie1". 
LOVED  ONES  AT  HOI/ffi. 

When  the  word  reached  the  boys  of  the  compliment 
of  Colonel  Hill  and  his  promise,  all  cried  -  "Are  you 
going  to  leave  us?"   "What  do  you  expect?"    "\".'hat  do 
you  want?"  asked  one.   "Not  a  single  thing,"  I  replied. 
"I  am  perfectly  happy  as  I  am".    "Say  Captain",  suddenly 
cried  one,  "wouldn't  they  let  you  off  to  take  our  mail 
to  St«  Louis?"   Then  it  was  all  bedlam.   All  gathered 

around  me  saying,  "You  could  do  it".   "Haven't  heard  a 

• 
word  from  home  in  three  years".   "Home  sweet  home"  was 

the  thought  of  every  man,  and  .there  was  not  a  dry  eye, 
as  they  told  of  their  longings;  those  scarred,  ragged, 
veterans. 

152 


'-d  into  the  yearning,  pleading  faces,  and 
said,'  "Boys,  I'll  do  it  if  they  will  let  me".    The 
men  took  me  in  their  arms,  while  the  news  like  wild- 
fire, spread  through  our  brigade.   Others  came-,  and 
they  acted  like  men  bereft  of  reason  at  •  the  hope'  of 
hearing  from  loved  ones  at.  home.    They  did  not  ques- 
tion or  doubt  but  that  I  would  be  given  permission. 
They  organized  and    Dinted  committees,  one  to  see 
that  the  letters  \vere  short,  and  another  to  gather  all 
the  Pe      money  that  was  in  camp.    The  money  was 
absolutely  valueless  wi-ch  us.    Even  if  there  was  anything 
to  sell,  no  southern  man  would  take  a  Yankee f s  money  for 
it.    A  committee  of  ten  men  was  selected  to  provide  me 
with  citizen's  clothes.    This  was  the  most  difficult 
task  of  all,  as  our . army  at  this  time  was  in  such  dire 
straits,  that  every  male,  from  youth  to  tottering  age, 
was  in  it . 
MY  CITIZEN'S  CLOTHES. 

•In  the  conscript  camp  they  saw  a  handsome  youth 
with  v/ell  fitting  homemade  clothes,  end.  by  intrigue  and 
falsehood,  they  enticed  him  away;  blindfolding  and  carry- 
ing him  to  our  trench,  where  he  was  stripped  of  the 
coveted  suit  of  home  spun,  and  in  exchange,  given  old 
ragged  garments.    The  boy,  nearly  frightened  to  death, 
and  still  blindfolded,  was  conducted  in  a  roundabout 

153 


fashion  before  he  was  turned.  Ice?       ,en  I  next  cane 
to  camp  I  had  to  try  the  stoler.      on,      Ithough 
ar.  trifle  large  >  it  was  pronounced  satisfactory.    The 
boys  then,  instead  of  calling  me  Captain  Johnnie  now 
shouted,  "Sonnie,  your  mother  was  just  here  looking  for 
you.    You  had  better  run  home  no      do  the  chores". 
Almost  every  soldier  possessed  greenbacks.    They 
kept  them  merely  for  the  pretty  pictures  stamped  on  them, 
or  to  gamble  w it h.    How  many  thousands  of  dollars  I 
carried,  I  never  knew. -   I  did  not  even  think  of  count- 
ing them.    Men  from  other  camps,  hearing  of  my  pro- 
posed mission,  contributed  their  share  to  my  collection. 
GENERAL  HOOD. 

« 

Sunday  morning  Colonel  Kill  led  the  way  to  the 
parade  ground  in  front  of  General  Hood's  headquarters 
at  the  head  of  the  band  of  thirty-one  men,  all  remain- 
ing of  the  hundred  who  had  left  Atlanta  ten  weeks 
before.   Both  the  staff  and  escort  of  General  Hood  were 
in  confederate  uniform  and  poorly  mounted,  v/hile  our 
uniforms  were  of  Federal  blue  with  much  gold  braid  and 
tinsel,,  and  our  mounts,  the  very  select  of  those  captured 
during  the  raid.    As- we  approached  headquarters,  with 
the  band  playing  "Dixie",  those  stirring  and  thrilling, 
though  unfamiliar  strains  of  music,  seemed  to  startle 
our  horses  almost  into  a  panic,  and  when  to  this  was 

154 


added  the  Rebel  yell,  given  by  more  than  a  thousand 
throats,  the  animals  were  practically  uncontrollable, 
much  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  spectators.    It  was  an 
odd  sight  to  see  our  little  command  in  their  fine 
Yankee  uniforms  in  the  midst  of  that  array  of  ragged 
and  faded  gray.    Colonel  Hill  read  his  report,  which 
was  frequently  interrupted  by  applause.    He  mentioned 
the  personal  gallantry  of  his  men,  giving  in  detail  a 
history  of  our  life  in  General  Sherman's  rear.   Finally, 
ordering  Lieutenant  Sloan,  Lieutenant  McBride,  and 
Captain  Johnnie  to  ride  forward,  he  turned  to  General 
Hood,  and  said:   "I  promised  these 'three  men  that,  with 
your  approval,  they  should  be  granted  any.  request  in 
reason.    This  I  do  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  my  command". 
Following  this,  he  spoke  in  detail  of  the  various  ex- 
ploits, etc.  etc.    General  Hood  made  a  most  gracious 
and  complimentary  reply,  and  stated  that  each  member 
of  the  command  should  receive  promotion.   "Lieutenant 
McBrid-3,  what  is  your  desire?"  he  asked.   "General", 
answered  the  Lieutenant,  "travelling  in  a  saddle  on 
the  -back  of  -a  good  horse  is  much  more  to  my  taste  than 
riding  my  two  feet".      a  jor  licBride" ,  said  the 
General,  "the  cavalry  needs  more  just  such  gallant 
officers  as  you.    Report  in  ten  days  to  General  Wheeler" 
"Major  Sloan,  what  can  I  do  for  you?"    "General",  he 

155 


replied,  "my  desiro  is  to  be  transferred  to  the 
cavalry".    "It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  grant  that 
wish",  said  General  Hood,  for  I  have  in  my  hand  a 
letter  from  General  Wheeler,  asking  that  I  transfer  to 
his  command  any  and  all  of  Colonel  Hill's  command  so 
desiring" . 
PERMISSION 

Turning  to  me  he  said,  "Captain  Johnnie  Wicker- 
sham,  what  is  your  pleasure?"   What  can  I  do  for  you?" 
"Nothing  for  myself",  I  answered,  "but  the  men  of  our 
brigade,  not  having  heard  a  word  from  home  in  years, 
have  begged  me  to  ask  your  permission  to  carry  their 
letters  and  make  inquiries  of  their  families  in  St. 
Louis".   "V/hat",  said  General  Hood,  "do  you  mean  you 
only  \vish  permission  to  take  the  mail  to  St.  Louis?" 
"Yes  Sir",  I  replied.    He  turned  to  our  beloved 
Brig.  General  saying,  "can  this  boy  accomplish  such  a 
thing?"   "Yes",  was  the  answer.   General  Hood  then 
summoned  Colonel  Hill  and  they  engaged  in  convers'a-  . 
tion  for  some  time,  and  when  they  concluded  he  addressed 
me  saying,  "Captain  Johnnie,  do  you  understand,  do  you 
realize  that  you  will  have  to  travel  many  miles  through 
Federal  territory  and  that  you  are  liable  to  be  hanged 
as  a  spy  if  apprehended?"    "General,  I  promised  the 
boys  I  would  try  to  do  it,  if  you  would  grant  permission 

156 


finally,  the  General,  after  some  hesitation,  using 
the  pommel  of  his  saddle  as  a  rest,  wrote  the  order, 
giving  me  an  indefinite  furlough,  and  asking  assistance 
in  my  behalf  of  all  Confederate  troops.    Soon  after 
we  were  disbanded. 
THE  BAHQ.UET . 

Before  I  started  on  my  long  journey,  Colonel  Kill 
made  me  the  guest  of  honor  at  a  dinner  given  by  him  to 
General  Hood's  staff  and  various  officers.    The  banquet 
took  place  in  a  beautiful  mansion  then  vacant,  and 
around  that  table  sat  many  white  haired  officers  in 
Confederate  uniforms.   Looking  back,  it  seem  ludicrous 
to  think  of  that  little  boy  in  home  spun  jeans  occupy- 
in,-?  the  place  of  honor  at  the  head  of  the  board.   At 
their  repeated  requests  I  gave  a  recital  of  the  events 
of  our  raid,  mingling  the  comic  with  thei  serious,  not 
forgetting  to  relate,  to  the  evident  amusement  of  the 
party,  how  I  got  the  moonshine  whisky.    The  hilarity 
faded  in  the  exchange  of  good-nights  and  goodbyes,  and 
the  eyes  of  Colonel  Hill  glistened  as  he  held  my  hand 
for  the  last  time. 

My  preparations  for  the  trip  north  consisted  in 
having  the  mail  entrusted  to  me  concealed  as  effectually 
as  possible  on  my  person,  which  ta^k  was  confined  to  a 
tailor,  who  proved  himself  a  veritable  artist  in  this 

157 


regard:  and  .liy.  sewed  the  letters.,  one  on 

another,  distributing  the  entire  mail  in  this  manner 
over  the  inner  side  of  my  undergarments,  which,  suit, 
by  the  way,  was  a  part  of  my  Federal  plunder.   When 
all  had  been  attended  to,  and  with  the  goodbyes,  and 
good  wishes-  of  my  comrades  ringing  in  my  ears,  I 
mounted  Charles  Augustus  Ebenezer  and  with  no  luggage 
but  my  trusty  revolvers,  rode  away  on  my  long  journey 
toward  St.  Louis.    I  decided  to  endeavor  to  enter 
the  Federal  lines  at  Memphis.    The  distance  by  rail 
was  466  miles,  birc  on  account  of  the  necessity  of 
avoiding  the  Federal  armies  "between  those  points,  this 
distance  was  doubled  several  times  before  I  reached 
Memphis.    I -shall  not  give  in  detail  the  history  of 
this  solitary  journey,  which  had  almost  entirely  tc 
be  made::  at  night 'time  so"  as  to  avoid  travelers,  and 
over  roads  unknown  to  me  with  no  guide  but  my  compass. 
The  highways  I  shunned  for  the  same  good:,  reasons.   It 
seemed  to  me  the  very  woods  were  filled  with  Yankee 
soldiers,  and  although  I  knew  if  aaught ,  and  the  mail 
discovered  upon  me  I  would  be  hanged  as  a  spy,  still 
I  did  not  seem  to  realize  the  gravity  and  peril  of  my 
situation.    .,  After  reaching  Federal  territory  I  spoke 
to  no  one  with  the  exception  of  an  old  man,  the  keeper 
of  a  country  store.   After  locating  the  store  I 

158 


watched  its  entrance  for  nearly  an  entire  day  from 
a  safe  distance  "behind  some  brush,  and  when  I  was  con- 
vinced it  was  little  patronized  by  the  soldiers,  I  at 
last  ventured  to  get  some  supplies  of  bacon,  crackers, 
cheese,  sardines,  etc.  of  which  I  was  in  need.   As 
the  old  store-keeper  brought  the  packages  out  to  me, 
he  remarked,  "Why  Sonnie,  you  are  riding  the  most 
beautiful  horse  I  have  ever  seen".   "Yes",  I  replied, 
"Father,  who  is  a  big  officer,  loaned  him  to  me  to 
ride  here  for  these  things". 

My  packages  were  already  tied  to  my  saddle  when 
two  soldiers  rode  up.    I  started  down  the  road  while 
they  talked  to  the  store-keeper,  but  had  not  gone  but 
a  short  distance  when  the  soldiers  started  after  me. 
By  talking  gently  to  Charles  Augustus  Ebenezer  I  managed 
to  keep  him  at  a  walk  as  I  was  not  yet  certain  as 
to  their  intentions.    Then  one  of  the  men  yelled 
"Halt"  and  fired  his  pistol  in  the  air.    At  this  my 
beautiful  horse  showed  them  his  heels,  and  I  was  not 
long  outdistancing  them,  but  knowing  I  could  not  keep 
the  road  without  the  fear  of  meeting  others,  I  made 
a  sharp  turn  as  soon  as  out  of  sight  of  my  pursuers,  and 
dashed  into  the  shelter  of  the  brush.    Dismounting, 
I  whispered  to  niy  beloved  horse,  and  he  stood  im- 
movable until  I  saw  them  pass.    Then  taking  an  opposite 

159 


direction  I  rode  on  through  brush  and  timber.   With- 
out doubt  my  salvation  was  in  a  great     --ure  due  to 
the  knowledge  gained  while  in  the  raid  in  the  rear  of 
Sherman's  army.    Many  were  the  incidents  that  occurred 
during  the  three  weeks  of  lonely  travel,  skirting  towns 
and  camps,  many  times  entirely  at  sea  as  to  my  direc- 
tion, and  added  to  this  the  discomfort  of  the  almost 
continuous  rains  from  the  time  of  starting  to  my 
arrival  at  Memphis.  '  While  I  slept  my  horse's  hitch 
rein  was  secured  to  my  wrist  and  more  than  once  when  he 
heard  a  strange  noise  would  awaken  me  by  putting  his 
nose  to  my  face,  and  at  other  times  he  would  play- 
fully bite  my  hand  and  enjoy  my  caresses.   You  cannot 
understand  how  we  loved  each  other. 

I  began  to  surmis-e  that  I  must  be  in  the  vicinity 
of  Memphis,  but  could  not  assure  myself  of  this  by 
making  inquiries,  so  hearing  army  wagons  passing  on 
the  road,  I  tied  my  horse  to  a  tree  and  crawled  to  the 
main  road  where  concealed  in  the  brush  I  watched  and 
listened  as  the  big  army  train  passed,  and  at  last 
was  rewarded  by  hearing  a  driver  say  he  would  be  in 
Memphis  by  the  following  night.   I  then  found  I  had 
passed  Memphis,  and  was  some  thirty  miles  northeast  of 
it. 

Then  new  fears  assailed  me,  and  if  you  had  seen 

160 


me  as  I  mounted  and  rode  off  just  at  dusk,  3^ou  would 
have  scid,  "There  is  surely  the  saddest  "boy  in  all 
the  v/orld" ,  for  I  had  just  realized  that  if  I  con- 
tinued my  journey  to  St.  Louis  I  should  have  to 'part, 
and  I  knew  forever,  with  my  dearly  beloved  Charles 
Augustus  Ebenezer.    I  held  a  night  long  council  of 
war  with  myself,  as  I  knew  no  one  with  whom  I  could 
leave  him,  and  the  fact  was  forced  upon  me  that  I 
could  not  ride  him  into  Memphis,  for  on  his  left 
shoulder  was  the  telltale  brand  "U.S."    I  felt  sure 

boy  dressed  as  I  was  -  riding  such  a  magnificent 
horse  would  be  compelled  to  prove  ownership,  which 
would  result  in  my  being  jailed  for  horse  stealing. 
Then  cane  to  me  the  greatest  sorrow  I  thought 
could  come  to  mortal  and  I  gave  way  to  my  grief. 
Having  decided  that  nothing  remained  for  me  to  do 
but  abandon  the  good  friend  who  had  shared  my  trial 
I  led  him  to  a  small  creek  where  the  grass  was  fresh 
and  green,  too1"  off  my  saddle  and  bridle,  and  kissing 
the  faithful  beast  I  left  him  and  ran  towards  the 
main  road.    Before  I  had  covered  half  the  distance 
I  saw  he  was  following  me,  I  turned  in  another  direc- 
tion and  hid  behind  a  fallen  tree  hoping  he  could  not 
find  me,  but  before  I  had  scarcely  wiped  away  my  tears, 
I  looked  up  into  the  face  of  Charles  Augustus  Ebenezer. 

161 


In  the  frenzie  of  my  anguish  I  struck        3, 
ashamed  as.  I  am  to  write  it,  I  threw*  rocks 
and  drcve  him  away  from  me,  leaving  h:  :ne . 

shelter  or  master.     I  bathed  my- tear-stained  face 
in  the  creek  and  walked  boldly  into  the  road  along 
which  was  passing  an  army  wagon  driven  by  a  jolly  Irish 
fellow  who  shouted  to  me  "Get  aboard  kid",  and  I  rode 
all  the  afternoon  by  his  side.   Without  direct  ques- 
tions, I  gained  some  idea  as  to  my  whereabouts  from  his 
casual  remark  that  it  was  nine  miles  from  Memphis. 
on  reaching  Memphis  I  felt  free  and  happy  as  a  lark, 
The  city  was  filled  with  soldiers,  and  I  noticed'  many 
boys  dressed  similar  to  myself.    I  think  it  was  the 
third  day  after  my  arrival  that  I  took  passage  on  the 
Steamboat  ."  Suit  anna  ",  and,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  I  had  probably  funds  sufficient  to  purchase  the 
entire  steamer,  I  was  cautious  enough  to  purchase  only 
a-  deck  passage  to  St.  Louis.    Hew  good  the  grub  tasted, 
and  how  I  wished  the  boys  in  the  army  could  share  such 
a-;  feast  with  me,  yet  the  passengers.;  were  continually 
grumbling.   Nothing  of  especial  interest  happened  on 
the  trip  except  that  I  remember  w3  were  four  days 
aground,  which  did  not  dampen  my  spirits,  for  every- 
thing was  new  to  me.    How  we  did  whip  the  rebel?  dnr . 

that  trip.1 

162 


ST-  LOUIS. 

Well  do  I  remember  when  the  boat  whistled  at 
St.  Louis,  and  how  the  Mate  drove  me  back  from  the 
front  end  of  the  boat,    I  had  no  luggage  of  any  kind, 
not  even  a  pocket  hanker chief,  and  before  the  boat 
was  tied  up  I  wasrs  ashore  and  climbing  the  cobblestones 
of  the  levee.    I  felt  like  shouting  for  I  knew  every 
foot  of  the  old  city  over  whose  streets  and  byways  I 
had  often  ridden  Father's  horses.    How  beautiful  the 
stores  looked,  clothing  stores  especially.    I  stopped 
in  front  of  their  inviting  windows,  and  gazed  and 
gazed  at  their  contents,  but  more  than  all  was  I  as- 
tonished at  the  unexpected  sight  of  a  horse-car*   I 
had  not  seen  one'  since  Father  left  St.  Louis.   After 
gazing  at  the  fascinating  displays  of  several  cloth- 
ing stores,  I  at  last  entered  one  and  ordered  the  best 
suit  of  clothes  in  the  house,  together  with  shirt,  linen 
collar,  tie,  shoes  and  socks.    The  salesman  took  them 
all  to  a  little  dressing  room,  and  offered  to  assist 
me  in  dressing,  but  for  very  good  reasons  I  refused  his 
assistance,  and  when  he  asked  me  about  underclothing, 
I  said  I  did  not  need  any.   Well,  my  boy,  you  can't 
imagine  the  pleasure  I  experienced  as  I  looked  into  the 
mirror  at  the  dude  I  was  transformed  into.   I  gave  the 
salesman  a  fifty  dollar  bill,  and  told  him  to  keep  the 

163 


change,  requesting  that  he  have  my  old  clothes  tied 
up  to  be  called  for  later.    I  immediately  .re-  i.ir- 
I  had  made  a  mistake  in  telling  him  to  keep  the  change, 
for  I  saw.' he  believed  I  had  stolen  the  money,  but  his 
good  judgment  told  him  that  he  would  lose  the  sale  if 
he  had  me  arrested.   I  spent  the  rest  of  the  afternoon 
and  early  evening  looking  in  the  show  windows,  and 
mingling  with  the  crowd.    I  invested  in  a  pocket  knife, 
of  the  variety  containing  the -picture  of  a  woman  in  the 
rivet.   As  the  evening  advanced  I  made  my  way  to  the 
hor.e  of  Henry  Ashbrook,  southerner  and  friend  of  my 
Father.    My  ring  of  the  bell  was  answered  by  a  negro 
servant  of  whom  I  inquired  for  Mr.  Ashbrook,  refusing 
to  give  my  name.   After  some  delay  he  came  tc  the  door, 
and  I  said  to  him,  "Don't  you  know  me?"    It  took  me 
quite-  a  while  to  convince  him  of  my  identity,  and  when 
I  was  finally  ushered  into  the  house  he  said,  "What 
in  the  name  of  Heaven  are  you  doing  here?"    "I  came 
with  the  mail  from  our  brigade",  I  answered.    "Oh.1", 
he  exclaimed,  "You  have  letters  from  my  boy",  but- I 
had  to  tell  him  that  his  son  had  fallen  at  Vicksburg. 
The  scene  which  followed  is  too  sad  to  relate,    "I 
have  a  letter  from  your  nephew",'  I  told  him.   "Give 
it  to  me",  almost  shrieked  the  wife.    "The  mail  is 
fastened  to  my  underclothing  for  safety,  and  has  not 


been  removed  since  I  left  camp",  I  said.    They  un- 
derstood, and.  I  was  taken  to  the  bathroom  where-  the 
letters  were  ripped  from  their  hiding  place,  and  with 
the  assistance  of  the  negro  and  fresh  garments  I  felt 
like  a  civilized  being  once  more. 

I  trust  no  one  \vill  have  occasion  to  pass  through 
such  a  night  of  misery  as  I,  a  boy,  witnessed' that 
night  at  Henry  Ashbrook>s.    I  knew  every 'man  in  our 
command,  and  it  devolved'  upon  me  to  relate  to  parents, 
friends  or  relatives  incidents  of  camp  life,  or  to 
tell  of  ho\v  some  dear  one  had  lost  an  arm,  or  a  leg, 
etc.    All  that  night  long  the  faithful  old  negro 
would  come  and  go  bringing  Mothers,  Fathers  and  friends 
through  the  alley  and  up  the  back  stairs  to  the  attic 
where  by  the  light  of  a  coal  oil  lamp.  I  told  my  tales 
of  woe,  for  if  living,  at  'best  I  could  but  tell  them 
of  those  dear  ones  as  gaunt,  starved  and  ragged,  but 
in  spite  of  all  this,  never  did  their  lips  breathe 
the  words,  nor  their  eyes  express  the  desire  to  "Give 
up". 

These  meetings  continued  for  three  days  and  nights 
until  the  number  of  callers  began  to  cause  comment,  so 
we  arranged  for  the'  delivery  of  my  mail,  and  I  left 

.  Ashbrook's  house  with  many  blessings-  and  prayers 
for  my  safety. 

165 


Next  cioor  to  where  we  had  lived  in  St.  Louis 
had  dwelt  a  boy  of  my  own  age  named  John  Bright.   We 
had  never  been  able  to  agree  very  well  and  had  often 
settled  our  differences  in  hand  to  hand  encounters. 
Wandering  into  a  theater  after  leaving  'Mr,  Ashbrook's 
house  I  had  sat  through  the  first  act,  thoroughly  en- 
joying the  entertainment,  when  to  my  surprise  and  con- 
sternation, the  same  John.- Bright  greeted  me  with  hands 
extended,  saying  "Isn't  this  Johnnie  Wickersham?"   Quick 
as  a  flash  I  answered,  "Never  more  mistaken  in  your 
life".   My  name  is  Doyle,  but  pleased  to  meet  you." 
As  my  stuttering  had  been  the  cause  of  most  of  our 
boyishes  differences,  I  now  felt  the  absolute  necessity 
of  hiding  this  defect,  and  succeeded.    He  left  me  and 
returned  to  the  seat  he  had  formerly  occupied,  but  re- 
peatedly looked  in  my  direction.    I  hated  to  leave 
the  show,  but  I  saw  he  was  watching  me,  so  I  waited 
my  opportunity,  and  slipped  out* 

The  following  day  I  visited  my  Father's  brother, 
Hawkins  Wickersham,  \vho  was  very  wealthy,  and  a  strong 
Unionist,   The  consternation  could  not  have  been  more 
complete  if  a  bomb  had  exploded  in  their  midst,  as  I 
entered  unannounced.   The  family  were  at  dinner,  but 
Uncle  gave  me  no  welcome,  only  wringing  his  hands  and 
begging  me  to  leave  at  once,  as  my  presence,  if  sus- 

166 


pected,  would  place  him  and  his  family  in  imminent 
peril.    Aunt  i.iary  kissed  me,  and  my  cousin  John,  a  boy 
of  about  the  same  age  as  myself,  showed  much  boyish 
admiration  for  me  as  one  who  had  figured  in  many  ad- 
veritures.    I  remained  only  about  an  hour  as  Uncle 
kept  repeating  that  they  would  take  his  property  from 
him  for  harboring  a  rebel,  and  that  he  knew  I  would  be 
hung ,  et  c . 
BARlTUli ' S  CIRCUS, 

During  one  of  my  -rambles  on  the  tenth  day  after  my 
arrival  in  St.  Louis,  attired  in  a  new  and  different 
suit  to  that  which  I  bought  on  the  first  day,-  I  ran 
across  the      .cCall  girls,  v/hose  father,  as  I  have 
mentioned  previously,  had  been  literally  cut  to  pieces 
in  the  fight  with  Fremont ' s  Body  Guard  at  Springfield. 
They  were  indeed  glad  to  see  me,  but  after  asking 
many  questions  they  begged  me  to  leave  the  city,  in- 
forming nie  that  some  of  my  mail  had  been  captured,  also 
that  John  Bright  had  reported  having  seen  me,  and  that 
a  reward  of  five  thousand  dollars  was  offered  for  my 
capture,  dead  or  alive.    We  were  just  then  passing  the 
tents  of  Barnum's  Circus,  and  the  natural  cravings  of 
a  boy  to  see  a  circus  could  not  be  resisted.   I  told 
the  girls  I  was  sure  no  one  would  know  me  in  my  new 
suit,  and  promised  to  use  every  endeavor  to- leave  town 

167 


that  very  night  if  they  would  accompany  me  to  the 
circus.    They  finally  consented,  and  the  show  proved 
wonderful  beyond  all  description.    Nothing  I  have 
ever  seen  since  has  in  any  way  compared  to  those  few 
hours  passed  under  the  tents  of  Barnum's  circus;  and 
the  clown  —  he  was  the  funniest  man,  I  thought,  in 
all  the  world,  and  I  laughed  at  his  antics  as  only  a- 
boy  could,  and  completely  forgot  for  the  time,  those 
years  of  battle  and  privations.    Suddenly  I. felt  some- 
one pulling  at  my  trouser  leg,  and  a  voice  whispered, 
"Johnnie,  John  Bright  has  brought  the  police  and  sol- 
diers here  to  catch  you".    I  thought  surely  my  girl 
companions- would  faint.    I  seemed  to  leave  the  joy  and 
laughter  of  the  previous  moments  miles  behind  me  as  I 
asked  the  unknown  friend  in  lowered  voice  if  I  could  not 
drop  down  and  so  gett  out  under  the  canvas.    "No",  he 
replied,  "There  is  a  regiment  of  soldiers  surrounding 
the  tents'1,    I  looked  into  the  white  faces  of  the 
girls  and  thought  of  the  flattering  things  they  had 
said  of  my  share  in  the  recent  events  and  then  and 
there  resolved  that  in  this  emergency  I  should  not  prove 
myself  a  coward,  so  gathering  all  my  courage  and  wits 
together,  I  said',  "Girls,  if  I  am  caught,  you  will  be 
to  blame,  for  your  tears  and  white  faces  will  give  me 
away.   How  let's  all  brace  up.   They  will  be  looking  for 

168 


a  scared  boy,  and  will  not  think  to  find  their  prey 
in  the  midst  of  a  happy  crowd1'.    So  I  laughed,,  but 
this  time  there  was  no  mirth  in  my  laughter,  and  the 
pleasure  and  glamour  of  the  afternoon's  entertainment 
were  gone.   At  last  the  circus  was  over.   "Laugh, 
girls,  laugh",  I  urged.   "Let's  mix  in  the  thickest 
of  the  crowd".   Actors  they  surely  proved  themselves, 
for  we  had  to  pass  out  through  files  of  soldiers,  but 
we  walked  so  closely  together,  the  girls  talking  and 
laughing.    The  privilege  of  writing  these  reminiscences 
today,  was  perhaps  owing  to  the  fact  that  girls  wore 
more  clothes  in  those  days  than  they  do  now.    My  new 
suit  happened  to  be  near  the  color  of  their  dresses.    I 
held  their  skirts  so  they  completely  enveloped  the  lower 
part  of  my  body,  one  parasol  was  forced  down  over -ray 
drooping  head,  while  the  other  flitted  frommsi'de  to  side, 
completely  hiding  me  from.  view.    ;Mohn  Bright "  ,  one 
girl  whispered,  "was  there",  but,  \ve  did  not  see  each 
other,  and  I  passed  out  unnoticed.    Two  blocks  away 
one  of  the  girls  fainted.   I. wanted  to  stay,  but  the 
other  only  repeated,  "Go,  Go,  Go",  and  I  left,  stopping 
at  my  Uncle's  for  the  suit  of  clothes  which  I  that 
morning  had  asked  Cousin  John  to  take  care  of  for  me, 
There  was  all  excitement  and  terror,  for  the  soldiers 
had  been  there  and  rcmsc-c"<ie£  every  portion  of  the  house 

169 


in  the  hope  of  finding  me.    I  lost  no  time  in  securing 
my  bundle,  and  was  soon  out  on  the  streets  making  my 
way  toward  Northern  St.  Louis. 
I  PADDLE  MY  OWN 


It  was  then  getting  dusk,  and  quite  dark  -by  the 
time  I  reached  the  river.    After  examining  the  bank 
carefully  I  discovered  a  boat  chained  and  locked,  and 
walking  back  up  the  levee  I  loosened  some  cobble  stones 
with  which  I  succeeded  in  breaking  the  lock-.    There 
were  no  oars,  but  in  the  drift  I  found  a  good  piece  of 
board  and  so  seating  myself  in  the  boat,  started  to 
drift  down  the  river  steering  to  the  Illinois  side  in 
order  to  keep  out  of  the  reflection  of  the  city  lights. 
After  passing  the  city  and  using  the  board  as  a  rudder, 
I  swung  out  into  the  swift  current,  a  happy  singing 
boy,  and  landed  at  the  break  of  day  on  the  Illinois 
side  where  I  cast  my  boat  adrift  and  started  off  on 
foot.   Before  long  I  came  to  a  little  store  where  I 
stopped  to  purchase  some  eatables,  and  then  continued 
my  journey  until  I  struck  the  railroad  track  which  I 
followed  for  some  miles  until  it  landed  m'e  at  a  small 
station.    There  I  purchased  a  ticket  for  Memphis,  and, 
after  waiting  some  hours  for  a  passenger  train,  I  jumped 
aboard,  and  was  soon  curled  up  in  a  seat  and  fast  asleep. 

170 


I  spent  several  days  at  Memphis  contriving  how  to 
get  through  the  Federal  lines  to  our  army,  when  one 
day,  to  my  great  surprise,  I  met  Mrs.  Mary  Davis,  wife 
of  an  officer  in  our  brigade,  she  had  slipped  through 
the  Federal  lines  to  '-.rnuggle  clothing  to  our  ragged 
comrades,  and  we  immediately  entered  into  partnership. 
Her  Aunt,  who  lived  six  m-i-les  out  of  town,  lad  ?.  Federal 
pass  for  herself,  daughter  and  driver,  and  Mary  Davis 
had  been  taking  the  place  of  the  daughter.    She  in 
company  with  her  Aunt  would  go  to  town  every  day, 
wearing  as  few  clothes  as  possible,  and  upon  their 
return  home  would  wear  the  smuggled  cloth  which  had 
been  made  up  into  petticoats  by  Southern  friends  in 
Memphis,  who  acted  in  conjunction  with  them,  buying 
the  material  and  preparing  it  for  them.    I  assumed 
the  position  of  servant  and  acted  as  coachman  on 
their  frequent  trips  to  town. 
II  PRISON. 

Everything  worked  smoothly  until  one  day  a  full 
company  of  Provost  Guard,  with,  company  front,  like  dog 
catchers  on  a  big  scale,  started  out  to  corral  every 
male,  from  sixteen  up,    I  was  captured,  and  with  the 
others  placed  in  the  "bull  pen"  where  we  were  informed 
that  if  we  took  the  oath  and  joined  the  Home  Guard,  we 

171 


should  "be  set  free.      ny  having  exemption  papers,  were 
set  free,  and  most  of  the  boys  and  men  took  the  oath  and 
went  their  way.    1  refused  and  was  pub  in  prison.    It 
was  a  grieat  shook  to  Mary  Davis  on  learning  that  I  was 
in  prison,  and  after,  in  many  ways,  endeavoring  to  se- 
cure my  release,  she,  as  a  last  resort,  appealed  to  a 
distant  relative  of  mine  named  Wicker sham,  a  bachelor 
of  means,  and  a  Unionist,  who,  although  we  had  never 
met,  had  heard  much  of  me.    She  begged  him  to  go  and 
see  me,  which  he  did',  not  only  once,  but  many  times. 
He  brought  all  the  arguments  that  good  horse  sense  could 
suggest  to  prove  to  me  the  South  was  beaten,  that  our 
armies  were  starving,  and  that  our  last  hope  was  gone. 
"Take  the  oath,  Johnnie",  he  would  implore  .Tie  again  and 
again.   But  he  might  as  well  have  argued  with  a  stone 
wall  as  with  that  foolish,  obdurate  boy.   Wo  grew  to 
like  each  other,  however,  and  he  was  deeply  interested 
in  my  stories  and  experiences  of  the  war,    Tha  last 
time  I  ever  saw  him  he  took  my  hand  in  his  and  said, 
"Johnnie,  I  am  an  old  man  with  no  family,  and  few 
relations,  if  you  will  take  the  oath,  I  will  this  day 
adopt  you  as  my  son,  I  will  love  you  and  educate  you, 
and  make  you  my  heir"".   But 'I  only  answered,  "What 
would  you  think  of  me  if  I  betrayed  the  trust  of  those 
I  love?"    "You  would  call  me  a  deserter,  and  would  be 

172 


right  in  doing  so".    I  told  him  I  would  rot  in  prison 
before  I  would  take  that  hated  oath.    That  same  night 
a  bribed  prison  guard  set  me  free,  and  before  morning  I 
was  at  the  home  of  Mary  Davis1  Aunt. 
SMUGGLING. 

By  this  time  we  had  accumulated  a  full  wagon  load 
of  clothes  and  medicine,  the  latter  mostly  quinine.   The 
question  now  was  how  to  getr  it  to  our  army.   Luckily,  I 
still  had  an  abundance  of  greenbacks,  and  succeeded,  by 
the  offer  of  an  exhorbitant  amount ,  in  hiring  a  Ger- 
man with  his  wagon  and  team  to  haul  the  goods  to  our 
line.   We  had  learned  that  there  was  a  force  of  Con- 
federate Cavalry  thirty  miles  south  of  Memphis.   \Vith 
the  goods  safely  loaded  the  German  and  I  started  over 
the  rough  unt raveled  roads,  practically  trails,  avoid- 
ing the  highway,  making  very  slow  progress  until  brought 
to  a  complete  halt  by  a  stream  swollen  very  much  by 
recent  rains.   The  ford  on  the  main  road  was  guarded, 
and  the  German  rebelled,  declaring  he  would  go  no  fur- 
ther.   I  unhitched  one  of  the  horses,  knowing  he  could 
not  get  away  with  but  one,  and  mounting  the  horse  en- 
tered the  river.    We  swam  from  one  side  to  the  other, 
searching  the  banks  for  a  possible  crossing  point,  which 
I  did  not  locate  until  we  had  crossed  and  recrossed  many 
times.   Having  discovered  a  spot  where  I  thought  we 

173 


night  cross  :.n  safety,  I  returned  to  the  German  who 
flatly  refused,  to  make  the  attempt,       /as  obliged 
to  force  him  to  drive  at  the  point  of  my  pistol.   \Ve 
reached  the  opposite  bank  without  mishap  and  made  all 
the  speed  possible  through  the  remainder  of  the  night. 
Just  after  daylight  we  were  overtaken  by  a  company 
of  Confederate  cavalry  who  pulled  both  the  German  and 
me  from  our  seats  on  the  wagon,  tied  our  hands  behind 
us,  and  sent  us,  both  mounted  on  the  same  horse,  under 
guard  forward  to  their  command,  where  we  were  regarded 
as  smugglers,  and  placed  in  the  "bull  pen"  with  a 
number  of  other  prisoners,  team  and  wagon  and  its  con- 
tents being  confiscated.    The  following  day  I  learned 
from  afguard ;  that  a  friend  of  both  Brother  Jim  and 
myself,  Colonel  Basil  Duke,  was  in  command.    I  managed 
to  send  him  a  note,  'and  it  seemed  but  a  moment  before 
he  had  me  by  the  hand  listening  to  my  story.     thout 
loss  of  time  men  were  sent  in  every  direction,  and  by 
morning  all  my  goods  were  restored  to  me,  but  the 
wagon  and  team, the  Colonel  explained,  he  would  be  ob- 
liged to  hold.   Out  of  courtesy  to  myself,  the  German 
was  given  a  pass  through  our  lines,  and  I  paid  him  all 
he  asked  in  compensation  for  his  loss.    His  demand 
was  not  modest,  and  being  granted  he  went  away  content- 
ed.   The  next  day  I  and  my  goods  were  safely  conducted 


to  the  railroad  many  miles  distant,  and  there  all  my 
plunder  was  loaded  in  a  box  car,  and  I,  in  charge, 
started  on  that  weary  ride  south  to  our  army. 
BACK  TO  THE  ARMY. 

Finally  my  car  reached  Meridian,  Mississippi,  and 
was  placed  on  a  side  track.    I  locked  the  car  door, 
and  started  off  to  find  my  command.    It  was  after  sun- 
set before  I  located  it.   My  regiment,  the  picket  told 
me,  was  that  group  of  tents  on  the  hillside  yonder.  Oh.1 
could  it  be  possible  that  that  was  all  there  was.--  left 
of  the  nineteen  hundred  and  sixty  men  whose  names  had 
been  on  its  muster  roll?    I  inquired  for  Company  "E" , 
of  which  my  brother  Jim  was  Captain.    I  found  the  tents 
all  situated  with  their  backs  to  a  steep  hill,  into 
which  they  had  excavated,  making  most  commodious  win- 
ter quarters,  with  fireplace  and  chimney.    It  happened 
that  many  of  the  regimental  and  company  officers  were 
spending  the  evening  with  Brother  Jim,  smoking  and  tell- 
ing stories.    I  learned  afterward  that  I  had  been  the 
subject  of  their  conversation.   How  plain  to  me  still 
is  the  picture  of  that  scene,  as  I  drew  back  the  blan- 
ket that  served  as  a  door,  and  stood  in  the  opening. 
Instantly  conversation  ceased.    A  light  fall  of  snow 
lay  on  the  ground  outside,  and  my  eyes,  partially 
dazzled  by  its  whiteness,  could  not  at  once  adjust  them- 

175 


selves  to  the  dim  obscurity  of  the  room.    Finally  I 
discerned  through  the  clouds  of  smoke  a  group  of  men.  ., 
as  at  a  command  arose,  then  Brother  Jim  carae  into  view, 
leaning  against  the  rude  fireplace ,  pipe  in  mouth.   NOT/ 
these  were  brave  and  tried  soldiers-  every  one,  but  no 
ghostly  apparition  ever  struck  such  terror  to  the  human 
heart  as  did  my  sudden  and  unlocked  for  presence  as  I 
stood  in  the  opening  quietly  facing  them.    The  pipe 
dropped  from  Brother  Jim's  lips,  his  face  turned  ashy 
white-,  and  he  would  have  fallen  had  a  comrade  not  rushed 
forward  and  caught  him.    My  sudden  appearance  had 
stricken  them  dumb,  but  when  I  finally  spoke,  and  they 
realised  I  was  flesh  and  blood,  and  not  my  own  ghost, 
they  gradually  recovered.   They  had  all  believed  me 
dead  as  my  absence  had  covered  many  months.    Never 
before,  nor  since  did  Brother  Jim  kiss  me,  but  that 
night  he  folded  me  in  his  arms  and  kissed  me  as  a  mother 
would  her  child.    There  was  no  sleep  for  me  that  night, 
nor  for  many  following  nights,  as  the  anxious  inquiries 
had.  to  be  answered,  although  some  of  the  messages  I 
brought  came  too  late,  and  the  ears  that  were  to  have 
received  them  were  deaf  forever  to  human  tongue.   It 
was  a  sad  return.   Many  of  those  dear  comrades  from 
whom  I  expected  the  warmest  welcome  xvere  not  there  to 
greet  me,  and  I  should  never  see  them  more.   The  list  of 

176 


dead  and  wounded  had  grown  very  long  during  my  absence, 
and -the  knov/ledge  of  their  sufferings  and  privations 
filled  my  heart  with  sorrow,  but  in  spite  of  all  this, 
no  note  of  discouragement  was  uttered.    I  had  presents 
for  all,  cloth  for  suits,  pocket  knives  and  trinkets, 
Llany  went  to  the  new  comrades  who  had  taken  the  places 
of  those  who  were  gone. 

"Pali  in",  rang  out  the  bugle.    The  remnant  of 
that  once  great  army,  in  battle  array,  started  on  its 
last  race  with  death,  its  ranks  reduced  over  eighty 
per  cent  during  the  past  year  by  the  ravages  cf  war. 
Physically  unfit,  yet  still  undaunted,  undisc our aged, 
brave  unt  o  de at  h . 

General  Lee  had  surrendered,  but  as  yet  we  were 
unaware  of  this,  and  the  rumors-  which  floated  through 
our  command  were  to  the  effect  that  General  Lee  had  won 
a  great  victory;  that  Major  General  Kirby  Smith,  with 
a  large  army,  was  making  forced  narchos  to  get  in  the- 
enemy's  rear,  and  so  we  fought  on.    The  long  and  weary 
marches  through 'the  days  and  nights  of  that  last  re- 
treat are  to  me  the  most  cruel  pages  of  the  history  of 
our  war.    The  enemy,  like  "blood  hounds,  were  ever  at 
our  throats,,  overwhelming  us  completely  by  the  number  of 
their  forces.    Curtis,  some  day,  wheh  you  are  older, 
you  will  hunt  the  deer,  and  the  hounds  will  trail  the 

177 


wounded  by  their  blood.    So  it  was  with  us.    In  the 
wake  of  our  army,  not  only  was  our  trail  marked  with 
blood  of  the  dead  and  wounded,  but  by  the  bodies  of 
the  sick  and  exhausted  men  who  could  withstand  no  longer 
and  so  fell  by  the  wayside.   We  kept  only  our  guns 
and  ammunition,  and  were  compelled  to  abandon  all 
baggage  and  commissary  wagons.    Still  we  fought  on. 
We  were  told  that  Major  General  Kirby  Smith  would  on 
the  morrow  get  in  the  enemy's  rear,  and  so  capture  the 
entire  army,  and  the  next  day  it  would  still  be  "to- 
morrow11., but  that  "tomorrow"  never  came.    They  had 
killed  the  horses  and  captured  all  our  artillery  with 
the  exception  of  six  guns.    Then  the  third  day  before 
the  last ,  £  large  force  suddenly  charged  our  weakened 
left  flank,  killed  the  remaining  horses  and  gunners 
and  took  from  us  those  guns,  but  not  for  long.    You 
cannot  realiz.e,  nor  can  I  picture  to  you  the  diabolical 
frenzy  of  man  when  driven  to  desperation.   \7e  were 
starving,  exhausted,   haunted,  sick,  and  the  future  • 
was  a  blank,  holding  out  no  promise  to  us.   We  had 
been  hounded  and  driven  until  death  had  lost  its 
terrors  and  rather  stood  to  us  for  rest  from  all  this 
strife  and  bloodshed. 

A  shout  filled  the  air,  not  the  famous  rebel  yell 
that  is  mentioned  in  all  history,  but  one  that  seemingly 

178 


came  from  the  throats  of  demons  in  their  last  death 
struggle.    It  was  so  sudden,  so  appalling,  so 
desperate,  it  struck  terror  to  the  Federals,  and  like 
maniacs,  we  were  at  their  throats  in  hand  to  hand 
conflict,   V/e  succeeded  in  driving  them  back  and  re- 
captured our  beloved  guns. 

Those  tired,  sick  and  barefoot  men  pulled  the 
guns  by  means  of  ropes  through  the  twelve  miles,  ankle 
deep  in  bog  and  mire,  until  v/e  carne  to  some  old  breast- 
works General  Beauregard  had  built  during  the  early 
years  of  the  war. 
THE  LAST  BATTLE. 

r,  here  is  a  picture  which  can  be  e raced -only 
by  deeti  .    The  exact  location  I  do  not  know,  but  oil  a 
hill     to  our  right  the  enemy  had  planted  a  battery 
and  the  next  morning  began  to  pour  grape  shot  into  our 
thin  ranks  while  solid  lines  advanced  in  our  front.   We 
repulsed  them, at  nine  o'clock  the  battery  on  the  hill 
ceased  firing  and  there  ensued  a  calr:.        on  looked 
into  each  other's  faces  with  wonder  and  amazement.   One 
man  said,  "Boys,  Kirby  Smith  has  gotten  in  their  rear, 
and  they  are  in  full  retreat".   All  that  afternoon  not 
a  shot  was  fired,  and  how  long  that  night  seemed  to 
those  men  watchful  and  sleepless.     e  only  sound  to 
be  heard  was  the  steady  tramp  of  the  sentinel. 

179 


could  sleep  under  the  roar  of  artillery  and  rattle  of 
musketry,  but  what  meant  this  deathly  stillness?   Un- 
consciously the  men  spoke  in  whispers,  and  the  question 
that  passed  from  lip  to  lip  was,  "What  does  it  mean?" 

The  stillness  was  yet  unexplained  when  the  next 
morning  some  one  mentioned  he  had  not  seen  "Big  officer" 
lately.    Just  then  we  saw  our  gallant  Colonel  riding 
toward  us  on  his  emaciated  horse,  and  a  moment  later 
the  bugle  rang  out  the  command  to  fall  in. 
THE  SURRENDER. 

It  seems  to  me  too  pitiful  to  write  that  on  that 
day  those  of  our  regiment  .answering  for  duty  numbered 
much  less  than  a  company.   "Color  bearer:?  ten  pa.ces  to 
the  front.   About  face".    These  were  the  Colonel's 
orders,  and  his  next  "Present  arms".    Stopping  a  moment 
he  looked  at  us  and  then  slowly  turned  and  rode  down  the 
hill.   "Look  at  the  Colonel,  he's  drunk.    See,  he 
can't  keep  his  saddle",  said  the  men.    The  Colonel 
checked  his  horse  at  some  distance  and  beckoned  the 
bugler  to  approach.   A  moment  later  the  boy  came  running 
back,  and  with  tears  streaming  down  his  face,  said, 
"Boys,  the  Colonel  says  it's  all  over.   You  will  have 
to  ground  arms" . 

No  tongue,  or  pen   can  ever  describe  this  scene. 
Our  eyes  involuntarily  turned  in  the  direction  of  that 

180 


beloved,  battle  fla.g  which  had.  never  known  dishonor 
or  disgrace,  and  we  thought  of  the  many,  many  heroes 
who  had  died  under  it,  and  with  one  accord  we  struggled 
to  obtain  a  scrap  of  it.   I  cannot  write  more. 

The  war  was  over,  and  we  had  lost.   God  only  knows 
the  price  we  paid. 
TRANSPORTATION. 

We  were  paroled  and  sent  to  the  Mississippi  River 
and  promised  transportation  to  St.  Louis.    The  war  at 
a  close,  and  the  necessity  that  had  kept  us  blind  to 
our  own  condition,  removed,  our  neglected  bodies  suffered 
an  almost  total  collapse.    Physically,  we  were  in  a 
worse  condition  than  when  we  surrendered  at  Vicksburg, 
and  much  more  exhausted  from  the  strenuous  marching,  to 
which  was  added  the  disease  that  was 'rife  among  us.   Our 
clothing  would  scarcely  cover  our  bodies,  and  we  were, 
almost  without  exception,  shoeless. 

Without  regard  to  commands  we  were  loaded  on  every 
passing  steamboat-  in  much  the  same  manner  that  cattle 
are  loaded  in  a  box  car,  and  on  the  little  steamboat  on 
which  I  was  packed  there  was  not  room  for  the  men  to 
lie  down,  while,  at  almost  every  stop  some  poor,  sick 
fellow  was  shoved,  from  the  gang  plank.   The  crew  was 
composed  oi  men  too  cowardly,  to  fight  with  the  army, 
but  brave  enough  now  that  the  war  was  over,  to  curse  and 

131 


abuse  us.    Lly  exhaustion  became  so  great  that  I  could, 
stand  upright  no  longer.   The  boat  was  landing  at 
Helena,  Arkansas-,  when  the  mate  spied  me  lying  on  the 
deck,  -  he  ordered  two  brutal  negro  deck  hands  to 
carry  me  off,  and  the  boat  pulled  off,  leaving  me  lying 
there  on  the  levee  bank.   A  negro  woman  found  me  and 
took  me  to  her  cabin.    Poor  woman,  she  .had  nothing  but 
corn  cake  and  dried. pumpkin,  but  she  gave  me  freely  of 
it,  and  would  go  with  me  when  I  became  able  to  walk,  tc 
the  landing  place,  and  as  boats  landed  would  plead  with 
them  to  take  me  aboard,  only  to  be  refused.    I  had  no 
money,  and  no  hope. 
HOME  COMING. 

After  weeks  of  her  motherly  nursing  I  felt  much 
better,  and  one  day  told  her  I  was  going  to  walk  to 
Missouri.   "Ho,  honey,  don't  try  it.   You  sure  will  die 
if  you  do",  was  her  advice.   .However,  with  a  big  hoe 
cake,  the  only  provision  which  she  had  made  for  me,  I 
started  on  that  long,  weary  tramp  over  a  country  that 
had  been  ravished  by  both  armies,  and  in  which  not  a 
building  or  so  much  as  a  fence,  or  head  of  stock  remained. 
During  the  ninety  miles  I  covered  I  did  not  see  a 
white  person.    It  seemed  as  if  some  terrible  scourge 
had  destroyed  every  living  thing.    I  met  several  parties 
of  negroes,  some  hunting  their  former  master  or  mistress, 

182 


and  others  going  North  for  that  "mule  and  forty  acres". 
Without  exception  they  shared  their  scanty  provisions 
with  me,  -and  one  very  kindly  tied  up  my  sore  feet,  as 
only  a  darkie  knows  how.    I  must  have  been  a  pitiful  ' 
sight,  for  I  won  the  sympathy  of  all  I  met.   At  last 
I  came  to  a  wide,  se'eningly  endless  prairie.    How 
hot  the  sun  was,  and  how  hard  it  was  to  drag  my  poor, 
sore  feet  and  weary  legs  .over  that  rough  and  overgrown 
road.    It  was  more  than  twenty-four  hours  since  the 
last  bit  of  my  hoe  cake  had  been  eaten,  and  sick,  -dis- 
couraged, and  exhausted,  I  dropped  on  the  grass,  and 
feeling  myself  now  thoroughly  beaten,    I  prayed  that  I 
might  die.   Nothing  seemed 'to  matter  to  me  now  but  to 
be  at  peace. 
THE  LIGHT. 

I  must  ha-ve  lain  there  hours,  for  when  I  .partly 
aroused  myself  it  was  dark,  then  I  saw  to  my  great 
amazement  and  surprise,  in  the  timber  to  my  left,  a 
light.    It  was  the  first  indication  of  life  or 'habita- 
tion that  had  crossed  my  vision  in  that  long  and  we; 
struggle  I  had  made  against  exhaustion  and  deat  . 
lay  there  pondering  —  somehow  it  seemed  the  light 
said  "come  on",  but  my  poor  weakened  body  refused  to 
obey  my  mind's  command.    The  dew  had  fallen,  and  the 
chill  of  the  night  air  had  so  encompassed  me  that  I 

183 


was  only  able  to  get  on  my  hands  and  feet  —  to  ir 
moment  fall.    It  seemed,  someone  said    "What  *  a- the 
use,  by  morning  you  will  be  at  peace"  --  but  more 
persistent  came  a  pleading  voice,  "Come  on,  come  cn:i. 
The  light  seemed  to  haunt  me,  and  I  resolved  to  make 
one  more  effort.    I  got  on  my  feet,  and  with  the  aid 
of  my  stick  took  a  few  steps.    The  light  seemed  to 
keep  saying,  "Come  on".    I  reached  the  clearing,  and 
saw  two  log  cabins  with  a  passageway  between.   There 
was  no  fence  or  outbuildings.    The     .-ageway  was 
raised.   I  was  just  about  to  knock          .-sound,  of 
voices  reached  my  ears, 'and  I  realized  that  family 
prayer  was  being  held  within.    I  heard  the  voice  of 
an  old  man  praying  for  Dick,  Jim,  and  Little  Johnnie, 
and  then  I  recognized  my  Father's  voice.   -It  seemed 
the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world  to  me,  as  I  rested 
against  the  side  of  the  wall,  fascinated  by  the  latch 

'   i 

on  the  door,  and  wondering  in  a  vague  sort  of  - 
they  put  it  on  the  outside  of  the  door.    It  never 
occurred  to  me  to  interrupt  the  prayer,  but  I  mentally 
wondered  if  he  would  ever  cease.   My  sensibilities  were 
numbed  and  nothing  seemed  unusual.    I  never  questioned 
as  to  why  he  was  here  in  this  log  cabin  in  such  a.  God 
forsaken  country.    At  last,  came  the  "Amen"  ,  and  I 
knocked.   A  woman's  voice  said  "Come  in",  and  I  opened 

184 


door.    There  was  a  fire  on  the  hearth  where  they 
had  cooked  their  evening  meal.    On  a  shelf  on  the 
wall  a  candle  was  burning.   And  there,  all  three  stand- 
ing, were  my  old  Father,  sisters  Sarah  and  Mary,  brother 
Dick's  wife.    Instinctively  I  had  known  who  would  be 
there  before  I  opened  the  door.    They  stared  at  me 
with  wondering  eyes.    Something  held  us  all  speechless. 
I  was  groping  blindly  irmay  mind  for  words.   Finally 
they  came  -  "I've  come  home",  I  said  and  collapsed. 
Sister  Sarah  caught  my  tottering  body  and  helped  rne  to 
a  bench.   "Something  to  eat",  I  managed  to  say.   Sister 

_-y  ran  to  start  the  fire  and  put'  the  bacon  in  the 
skillet  and  the  rye  in  the  coffee  pot.    My  old  Father 
supported  me  while  Sarah  brought  me  a  drink.   They  knew 
I  had  been  a  Confederate  soldier,  although  none  recog- 
nized me.    It  was  no  wonder,  for  since  leaving  Memphis 
nearly  a  year  ago,  I  had  scarcely  seen  a  piece  of  •  soap. 
I  was  now  almost  nineteen  years  of  age  with  only 
sufficient  flesh  to  cover  my  bones.   KTo  whet  command 
did  you  belong",  asked  my  Father,  but  to  all  his  ques- 
tions I  could  only  The  fryi.     n  had 
all  my  attention.  Thank  God,  Mary  was  placing  it  on 
the  table,  and  Father  and  Sarah  were  taking  me  to  the 
bench  in  front  of  it.    My  bey,  I  was  as  unaccustomed  to 
eat  with  a  knife  or  fork,  a          accustomed  to  th 

185 


us?,     ten  zliey  piaced  me  at  the  table  I  seized  the 
bacon  in  both  my  hands  and.  devoured  it  like  an  ani- 
mal.     ;  y  was  at  the  other  side  of  the  table  with 
her  chin  resting  on  her  hands  watching  me,  when 
suddenly  she  gave  a  scream  and  cried,  "It  is  Ji 
(Jim  was  my  next  oldest  brother).    They  gathered 
around  me  embracing  me  .between  their  tsars,  and  when 
I  could  sufficiently  control  my  voice,  I  told  that  -I 
was  Johnnie.   My  Father  brought  the  water  and  they 
all  helped  to  bathe  me,   My  sisters  that  night  made 
me  underclothes  from  their  skirts.      :;ks  after  I 
learned  that  Father  and  rny  Sisters,  knowing  that  the 
war  was  over,  and  unable  to  wait  longer  for  news 
of  us,  had  started  South  with  a  pair  of  horses  and 
carryall,  or  light  spring  wagon,  loaded  with  provisions 
and  supplies.    On  reaching  that  lonely  place  robbers 
had  captured  the  horses,  wagon  and  all  they  had  brought, 
and  had  left  them  stranded  in  that  little  cabin. 


186 


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